Don't Cry
by Questionable Answers
Summary: "Don't cry. Please." The small voice cut through her tears, but could Ran really find a way to forgive him?
1. Chapter 1

Ran turned to face the door, alerted to the presence of guests by the creak of the stairs. She sighed, wondering if her father would ever get around to fixing it. Every time she asked him to paint the doorframe, or fix the leak in the bathroom, or replace the old coffee table, he came up with some excuse or another not to do it. 'Not now, I'm working.', 'Shhh! Yoko-chan is on.', 'I already blew the budget.' were all phrases commonly spoken by the famous detective with the shabby office. One would think the man would realize that a pleasant reception would attract more clients to him than his reputation alone.

Ran threw on a smile to hide her annoyance. Whoever was coming up the stairs might be a potential client, and the office hadn't seen a lot of business lately. Sure her father had solved a murder just last weekend, but the police don't pay nosey detectives. Clients paid nosey detectives, therefore clients bought her groceries. Maybe she'd get to make something special for dinner tonight.

"Yo." Ran tried not to look disappointed when a baseball cap came into view, followed closely by a dark skinned Osakan teenager. "Ah, Neechan. What's for dinner?" the boy grinned. Ran was saved from having to formulate a coherent answer by the girl stepping out from behind her larger counterpart.

"Heiji!" she spoke sharply, as if to misbehaving dog. "Don't be rude. We haven't even gotten our shoes off and you're talking about food. Guests are supposed to act more graciously!" Ran's scrambling thoughts finally grasped on to something.

She blinked once. "Guests? Will you be staying over? I'm sorry I'm not prepared." The mask of politeness was a good deal more comfortable than complete confusion. The other girl blinked in a close imitation of Ran's stunned look.

"You're not… You mean you didn't…" Kazuha-chan trailed off for a moment before turning violently on her clueless male companion. "You didn't tell her! You just decide to hop on a plane to drop in for a visit without bothering to inform your intended host. That's so…so…parasitic! Like a flea, or a tick. A leech! You're just a big fat leech! And you just couldn't keep you're leechyness to yourself, you had to go and make a leech out of me too. So know we're both fat leeches in a leechy pond, rolling around in the leechy mud and it's all your fault. I can't believe you!"

Ran winced, not out of sympathy, as far as she cared the boy deserved it, but because her friend's steadily increasing volume was a few decibels higher than comfortable. Hattori-kun took a deep breath, and Ran prepared to cover her ears in case the two of them decided to engage in a full blown shouting match. They usually had at least one of them on any given occasion; she only wished they wouldn't indulge right on her doorstep.

Hattori-kun didn't get the chance to defend himself. In a move both tactful and insulting, Kazuha-chan turned her back on him, fast enough that her ponytail nearly brushed his nose, and faced Ran with a charming smile. Hattori-kun sputtered and Ran mentally applauded. It took more than a little skill to turn what was becoming an argument into a slap on the wrist. Instead of allowing Hattori-kun level ground, she whipped the rug out from under him and left him on his ass.

When Ran had first met Kazuha-chan, she had been tempted to think of her as, put politely, socially inexpert. Of course Ran knew better now. Kazuha-chan's tendency to jump to conclusion didn't mean she wasn't thinking, and her blunt way of speaking wasn't ignorance but honesty. She didn't put up with veiled insults and polite snubs. She said what she meant and expected others to do the same. Ran admired and envied her clarity; she wasn't lying to herself, or anyone else.

"Anyway," Kazuha-chan continued to ignore Hattori-kun's half formed protests. "Ran-chan, thanks for letting us stay here." She was just a shade too pleasant, daring Ran to turn them away.

"Come in." Ran ignored the fact that they were already in. "Of course you're welcome to stay. Dinner isn't anything special, but I think I have enough ingredients for something simple."

Kazuha-chan looked relieved, despite her apparent confidence. Hattori-kun mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like an 'I told you so' and was rewarded with an elbow in his ribcage. "Sorry to be a bother." She was genuinely apologetic.

"Please think nothing of it. It's a pleasure to have you here." Despite her initial shock, Ran really was glad to see her friends. It was nice to talk to someone who understood the trial of being close friends with a detective, and Conan-kun would enjoy catching up with Hattori-kun. The little guy really looked up to the high school detective, almost too much, but Hattori-kun didn't seem to mind him tagging along. It was really too bad they didn't see more of each other. It wasn't often that they bridged the gap between Tokyo and Osaka, unless there was a case involved.

Ran became nervous, thinking of potential cases. "Just curious, but why are you here?"

Hattori-kun sneaked a little revenge, waiting for Kazuha-chan to open her mouth, then cutting her off. "Kazuha is in an aikido tournament tomorrow."

Ran exclaimed her delight. "Would you mind if I came along to cheer you on?"

"Of course. Actually that would be great. There are so many good people going to be there I'd be glad of your support."

"If you make it past the preliminaries."

"What was that, Heiji?"

"I didn't say anything." Hattori-kun studied the ceiling. Ran guessed he was still prickly from being thwarted, or else he probably wouldn't have dared.

"I thought so."

It was good to see the two of them getting along as usual. In her opinion, they should just tie the knot and make it official; they bickered like a married couple. Of course they would first have to admit their love for each other, obvious to everyone but them. Ran fought off a slight blush, she really shouldn't be throwing stones, or her own walls could come crashing down.

Suddenly feeling annoyed and a little bit jealous, though she would never admit it, Ran smiled a slightly evil smile and said in her most innocent voice: "How sweet of you, Hattori-kun, to accompany Kazuha-chan all the way here so you could cheer her on. I wish I had a boyfriend like you!" Several thing then happened at once. Kazuha-chan blushed in what was, to Ran at least, a highly satisfactory fashion and sputtered something unintelligible. Hattori-kun yelled denials and insults in a frantic attempt to make it clear his was NOT dating his best friend. The door swung slowly open to reveal a pair of ice blue eyes glaring daggers at the entire room.

"What do you mean by that, Ran-neechan?" Conan-kun's voice was as sweet and sticky as pure sugar.

"Idiot! We're not… I mean… Who would date a violent girl like her, anyway?"

"Did I say boyfriend? Silly me, I meant _guy_ friend."

Kazuha-chan jumped on the distraction. "Who are you calling an idiot, idiot! That's no way to speak to your host! And just what do you mean by violent? You got a problem with me?" she brandished a fist threateningly.

"Is Heiji-nichan staying over? Why? Can't he and Kazuha-neechan split a hotel room?"

"Yeah I got a problem with you! You're loud and rude and you snore!"

"Urgh! You're such an idiot! Why do I put up with you? I wouldn't share a room with you in a million years."

"Why is Heiji-nichan here anyway? Doesn't he belong in Osaka?"

"Pipe down, ku-conan-kun! Can't you see I'm trying to have a conversation here?"

"Hattori-kun, don't yell at Conan-kun, he's just a kid!"

"Who were you calling violent, Heiji? Are you gonna make the poor kid cry so you can feel better about yourself? You're a bully now too?"

"Jeez, quit ganging up on me, it's not like he's actually sev-OUW!" Conan-kun kicked Hattori-kun hard in the shin. "You little runt!" he reached out to grab the boy by the collar and missed. With a quick movement Conan-kun dodged again and took shelter behind Ran's legs, one hand fisted in the hem of her skirt.

"Hiding behind your girlfriend, huh ku-"

"STOP" the word wasn't so much loud as powerful, especially since it was accompanied by the cracking of wood. The room fell completely silent, except for the fragments of the doorframe falling softly to the floor. Ran unclenched her fist slowly and took a deep breath.

"What are you thinking, Hattori-kun, picking fights with children." Ran looked down at Conan-kun, who looked up at her with damp eyes.

"Wha-, picking fights? He started it!" Hattori-kun poked a finger towards the boy, as if revealing the true criminal of a mysterious case.

"You're blaming the seven year old? I thought I was joking about the bully thing, but I guess you really are a coward." Kazuha-chan's voice was laced with derision.

"Heiji-nichan is scary." Ran bent to gather the boy into her arms. He did look rather shaken. She felt her blood rising. Punching solid wood hadn't been enough of a stress relief. She needed to focus on something else before she accidently broke something. She looked at Hattori-kun; or someone. She looked at the doorframe; else.

"Kazuha-chan, would you please help me with dinner?" The boy squirmed in her arms. "Conan-kun too, of course." She turned an icy gaze on the detective. "You stay here." She turned on her heel, not waiting for confirmation, and disappeared into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, Ran-chan." Kazuha-chan sounded sheepish, an uncommon occurrence.

"You have nothing to apologize for, I'm not mad at _you_." She stressed the last word, making it clear that she was indeed mad.

"But Heiji and I kind of started it all, so I kind of feel responsible." Kazuha-chan insisted.

Ran sighed and set her small burden on the counter. She grabbed up her apron and handed the spare to her friend. "I'm more responsible than you are." She jerked the fridge open. "I provoked him on purpose." She chose several items. "Conan-kun, would you like some juice?"

"Sure!" At least Conan-kun seemed more cheerful now. It wasn't fair of Hattori-kun to pick on him like that.

"Provoked?" Kazuha declined Ran's implied offer as she poured two glasses. Instead she started arranging ingredients and utensils on the counter.

Ran took a sip of juice, not really tasting it. "I miss Shinichi." Kazuha-chan nodded wisely.

"sptthf! Cough!"

"Conan-kun? Are you Okay?" Ran fussed over the boy, wiping up spilled juice.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Can I go talk to Heiji-nichan now?" He sounded as sweet as ever. That confused Ran, considering his 'nichan' had him on the verge of tears not ten minutes ago.

"Huh? But… Conan-kun are you sure you want to? We don't mind if you stay here with us, do we, Kazuha-chan?"

"Not at all. We're just going to be talking about boring girl things though. Maybe he doesn't want to listen to us chat, Ran-chan." Conan-kun nodded enthusiastically.

"But…" Ran glanced toward the living room, separated from the kitchen area by a sturdy door.

"Don't worry Ran-chan. Heiji might be a little hot headed, but he'd never actually hurt the kid."

"I know that, its just…" Ran let the sentence fall into a slightly uncomfortable silence.

Then Conan-kun chirped, "Is Heiji-nichan mad at me?" making both girls look at him with surprise. "Does he hate me?" the pure innocence of the question brought motherly instincts into full effect, and had both girls practically tripping over themselves to reassure the boy. Babbling about how of course Heiji-nichan didn't hate him, he was just a little upset right now.

"So I should go apologize." The girls were, once again, stunned by his cuteness. "If you don't want someone to stay mad, you should apologize right away. I don't want Heiji-nichan to be mad anymore."

Ran blushed, Ashamed of the uncharitable thoughts she had been directing at the detective. She really could learn a thing or two from her little charge. "Of course. We can handle making dinner, but then you two have to do the dishes." His reply was less than enthused, but he scurried out the door fast enough.

"Are you actually going to make him do the dishes?" Kazuha-chan was curious rather than accusatory.

Ran giggled. "He can't reach the sink. Hattori-kun will end up doing them all. It can be his punishment." Kazuha-chan took up a kitchen knife and joined in the giggling, and for a while the two girls worked in silence.

"So," Kazuha-chan used the tried and true method of breaking long pauses. "Kudo-kun, huh?"

Ran's knife faltered. "Yeah." They lapsed into silence again.

"It's just, sometimes I think he's avoiding me." Ran paused again, but Kazuha-chan was smart enough to know that sometimes silence was the best persuader. "I mean, he hardly answers his phone, and he never tells me what's going on, and when we do talk, he acts like nothing is wrong. Maybe he just doesn't like me anymore, but he doesn't want to hurt my feelings."

"Don't be silly Ran-chan, he'd be a fool not to like you. He's probably just wrapped up in a big case and to stupid to notice how you feel about him." Kazuha-chan glanced sideways and Ran got the feeling she wasn't just talking about Shinichi. "Boys are like that."

"mhmm." Ran was trying not to rub her eyes, because she was NOT crying dammit. "Thanks, Kazuha-chan, but…"

"but what? If you really think that way, maybe we should just go out and find you a real man. If Shinichi-kun is into you, he'll come home all jealous to claim you. If he isn't, than maybe you can find someone who is." Kazuha nodded decisively. Ran giggled again.

"That's not it at all. Its just… when I'm not thinking he's running away from me, I wonder what he is running from. I know it sounds silly, but I sometimes get the feeling he's in some real trouble."

Kazuha-chan considered her for a moment. "You should send him a charm. When Heiji is off doing god knows what and getting himself into all kinds of messes, it helps me to know that he's carrying my feelings around with him." Ran forced herself not to start giggling again. The poor girl was bright red from the admission.

"Even if I wanted to, I don't know where he is or how to get one to him." She sighed again. "Oh look at me, all doom and gloom when guests are over. I'm going to go ask the boys how hungry they are so we know how much to make." Ran shook herself off and pulled her focus away from missing detectives and mysterious feelings. Her friend had come all the was from the other side of the country, so the least she could do was try to enjoy herself.

She was just about to turn the corner into the living room proper when she heard something that stopped her dead. "Seriously Kudo," that was Hattori-kun's voice. Had Shinichi come by without warning again? "What was with the crying thing? I nearly barfed." He was talking to Conan-kun.

"Hattori. Keep your voice down." That was definitely Conan-kun's voice, but why was he answering to Kudo? And since when did he call Hattori-kun, by his family name? and with no honorific? "Isn't nearly blowing my cover once today enough? Or are you going for a new record." Cover? What?

"Y'know, you wouldn't have to worry about it if you just fessed up. Seriously, what's the worst that could happen?" He sounded sincere, but then Hattori-kun and Kazuha-chan were alike in that regard. They were both bad at keeping secrets.

"Your kidding right?" Ran noticed a depth to the boys voice that was usually missing, and a sense of irony that no seven year old should have, no matter how bright. Theoretically they didn't have enough life experience to be able to utilize sarcasm. "Other than what we've already discussed, did you not see the doorframe? Do you want that to be my face? She'd kill me before I even got a chance to explain."

"I don't think your giving her enough credit. Hasn't she waited long enough?" She'd certainly heard enough, though she almost couldn't believe it. She crept back to the kitchen and slowly opened the door.

"Well then," Ran raised her voce so the whole house could hear her. "I'll just run out and pick up some groceries. I'll be back soon."

Kazuha-chan looked confused. "ah… but…"

Ran tuned and left as quickly as she could, but not before hearing one last conversation. "Did you guys say anything to her?" Kazuha-chan was still confused.

"No. Why?"

"Because there's plenty here. We don't need supplies at all."

She felt ice blue eyes watch her go.

* * *

><p>Ran grabbed her purse from beside the door and walked calmly down the stairs. She looked up at the window from the sidewalk and waved encouragingly to the worried looking boy. He smiled and waved back at her. She swung her purse lightly as she strolled down the block. She turned the corner, out of sight of the agency and curious eyes, and sat down to cry.<p>

The conversation she had heard could only mean one thing. Sweet little Conan-kun was actually Kudo Shinichi. This whole time, while she worried and cried over him, while she waited. He had been there, seen her, and didn't think it was worth mentioning. Her head dropped into her hands under the weight of her grief. She trusted him, had always trusted him, and for him to not trust her back was… heartbreaking.

"I'm such a fool." She couldn't help but remember back to the night 'Conan-kun' had appeared. She had told him she loved Shinichi, and he didn't say anything. She had taken a bath with him and washed his hair, and he hadn't said anything. She had chased him out of crime scenes and scolded him for being in the way and he _hadn't said anything_.

"I'm such a fool." Her voice was quiet and sad, almost pathetic. The sound of it was maddening. Is that what she had been reduced to? She, who was admired for being strong and confident by friends, family and even fans, was sitting in the gutter _whining._ "He lied to me! Manipulated me! He's probably sitting there laughing at me. 'Gullible and naïve Ran, How easy it was to trick her.'," Ran stood suddenly and stared to pace. She needed to move, to work out some of what she was feeling. The shock of the unbelievable truth was dissipating, and her sadness was melting like a popsicle in hell. Ran's hands balled into a comfortable and familiar shape, one that was known for cracking concrete, and could potentially be used to break faces. Ran smiled, with one particularly cocky face in mind.

She paced. Back and forth, first one way and then the other; her mined traced and retraced the same paths, each time working further into turmoil. She couldn't decide which way to go. Her self righteous anger urged her to march strait back home and beat some answers out of the liar, while her deprecating sadness wanted her to leave and never come back.

"He lied to me! And I knew it! I knew it was him but he tricked me!" back and forth. "He mocked me, and used me!" To and fro. "I trusted him." Ran was crying furiously and could barely see the ground in front of her. Indecision kept her in place, never taking more than a few steps in either direction, endlessly moving but going nowhere.

"Don't cry." Ran stopped, shocked from her restless thoughts.

"Please. Don't cry." The voice was young and sweet, though the tone was anything but. It was a voice Ran recognized. She rubbed the water from her eyes and peered at the small shape in front of her, not really seeing, not comprehending.

"If you continue to cry, I might start to hate you." The little girl looked up at her with cold, dry eyes. Ran blinked, sure she misheard. There was no way this girl could say something that awful.

"Excuse me?"

"I believe you heard me quite clearly, but in case you didn't, if you continue to cry I'll have no choice but to hate you." She flipped a piece of light brown hair away from her face. "After all, you don't have a clue." And just like that, Ran's anger was back, but with a brand new, much more accessible target. She wasn't about to attack a child, but she wasn't about to let her slide either.

"How dare you say that? How can you tell me I'm clueless when you're the one who doesn't know anything! You can't possibly know how I feel!" Ran took a deep breath, too righteous in her anger to feel bad about yelling at a child. The girl smiled a toothy smile and Ran felt suddenly afraid, like she had fallen into a hunters trap.

"Oh? Is that so?" She could have been talking about the weather for all the emotion she was showing. "So I couldn't possibly know that you were hurt and betrayed by the person most important to you. I don't know how stupid you feel for not noticing sooner how similar a strange little boy was to someone you know so well. I couldn't guess how unimportant you think you are to him, that he couldn't even let you in on a secret." The girls every word cut like a knife, each one the truth to the core. "So I also wouldn't know how very wrong you are, and that if you don't stop crying right now and pull yourself together, you are going to lose something precious, and I will hate you for it."

Ran stopped crying. For whatever reason, shock, curiosity, or maybe some part of her recognized the truth in those words, Ran stopped crying. For the first time, she really looked at the girl. "You…Aren't you Co- aren't you friends with Co-", Ran couldn't finish she name.

"Yes I am friends with Edogawa-kun, and yes, I am friends with Kudo-kun." She paused and watched Ran search for words. "You know me as Haibara Ai, but please," her eyes glinted with emotion Ran couldn't recognize, "call me Sherry."

"Sherry?" Ran looked at the girl and thought of another child who was more than he seemed. "But how?"

"Hmpf. There is more going on here than you could possibly imagine more mysteries in the world than can ever be explained. Suffice to say I'm a good deal shorter than I used to be, just like Edogawa-kun. But unlike him, I chose this." Ran started, considering, as she should have from the start, why Shinichi was smaller than he should be. The lying and the tricking put aside for now, people didn't just shrink. She had once thought the professor had invented some weird drug so Shinichi could hide out, but this girl said it wasn't his choice. So then what?

"Before you bother asking, I won't tell you." Ran snapped her mouth shut, interrupted by the girl's, no, Sherry's cold voice.

"Why not? Shouldn't I know? After all that's happened and all that I've been through? Don't I have the right?" Ran hadn't forgotten her anger.

"Didn't I already say so? You're absolutely clueless. You don't know what's happened and you haven't been through a fraction of what others have, including him. You don't deserve to know anything." The girl almost sounded upset, but she was far too controlled. "But that isn't why I'm not telling you."

"Then why?" The question hung in the air, both people considering the answer.

Finally Sherry spoke. "Because the truth can`t make you forgive him. That's something you`ll have to do on your own."

It was Ran's turn to carry the silence. Then: "He lied to me. He`s still lying to me. Why should I forgive him?" the words sounded harsh, even to her own ears, but Ran couldn't let herself regret them. It was a valid question. Why should she put up with this any longer? She deserved better.

"That's something only you know."

"And?" Ran pressed. "So what? You won't tell. What's to stop me from asking Shinichi. I know who he is now. I won't be fooled again. He'll have to tell me."

"Will he, though?" The sun had begun to set just behind the strange little girl, spreading it's glow around her while making her appear shadowed. Ran had to squint her eyes. "You want the truth. If you ask him, you won't get the truth. Not all of it, at least, and probably not even most of it. I'll tell you everything I can."

"But you said-"

"If you can forgive him, come see me at noon three days from now. It's the holiday, so school won't be a problem. You know where to find me." It was the best Ran would get, and she knew it. Shinichi wouldn't tell her, not really. He'd make something up, cover the truth with more lies. Such a thing would seem to be against his nature, but Shinichi always put other people ahead of himself. He would carry the burden of truth alone to keep the weight of someone else's back. Such a thing was unacceptable. Maybe even unforgivable.

"And if I can't? Forgive him."

Sherry smiled without warmth. "If, that's the case, you don't deserve him." She turned away.

* * *

><p>AN: Yay! I finaly wrote something I think is worth publishing! My intention is of course to finish this story, but I kinda have a history of leaving things half done. I will do my best though, especially if I know people are interested in reading it (Hint: please review. Its a great motivator.)

If you think the way I refer to characters is kinda wierd, its because its all from Ran's point of veiw, so I'm useing the termes she normaly uses. I hope I got them right.

also, fyi: in my mind aho=idiot, baka=fool/stupid, barro=moron


	2. Chapter 2

Ran's fist tightened around the thin plastic in her hand as she looked up at the office window and wondered – not for the first time – why she didn't just walk away. The option to leave and not come back was tempting. Why should she bother trying to understand foolish detectives who didn't trust her? Why put herself through more unnecessary trouble?

The last light of the sun was fading from the sky. If she didn't make up her mind soon, the decision would be out of her hands. She had already been away for a suspicious length of time. If she was going to uncover the truth, she would have to be sneaky about it and the time for being sneaky was coming to an end. If she stayed away much longer, Shinichi would know, with his peculiar way of just knowing a thing, that all was not well.

'_You'll lose something precious, and I'll hate you for it'_ Even the memory of the freaky little not-girl gave her chills. It served as a reminder that Ran really didn't know what was going on. She only knew that she had been lied to countless times and needlessly hurt by someone she trusted explicitly. She didn't know why.

That was the only reason she wasn't on a train to her mother's apartment right then. She didn't know why. Maybe Shinichi was rubbing off on her, but she couldn't bring herself to any conclusion or judgment without more information. '_You don't have a clue.'_ The voice mocked her from inside her own head.

_Hmph._ _What does she know? _ Ran could do this. All she had to do was act like she was perfectly okay and everything was right in the world. She had done it before: after he parents split up, and the first time she saw for herself that death was more than just a word, and when Shinichi up and vanished mysteriously. She was good at pretending, keeping her world together through sheer strength of will.

Excuse in hand, she lifted a foot onto the bottom most step. She wasn't about to let her silly hurt feelings wreck everything she had managed to pull together. So what if Shinichi was an arrogant ass, who cared if all her worrying and wondering had been wasted time. Ran was too strong to just collapse under pressure and she would prove it. In three days time Ran would know all she needed to know, and if she still was not satisfied then her mother would find herself with an extra houseguest after all.

Three days was nothing. Ran had won the junior nationals, she had chased down criminals, she had earned the lead in the school play. Three days of playing a character she knew inside and out was no challenge at all.

Her steps had at last carried her to the apartment door and she hesitated. With her hand resting on the doorknob, Ran took one last steadying breath. Then she threw open the door and announced, "I'm back."

"Welcome back, Ran-neechan." His voice was sweet as sugar and did nothing to elucidate his thoughts. Ran had no way of knowing what was going on behind the oversized glasses, but she wouldn't let herself be fooled anymore. Those were Shinichi's eyes that washed over her, gleaning every bit of information they could, and it was Shinichi's mind that pieced together every detail. "Did you get what you needed?" It was Shinichi's suspicions she needed to assuage.

Ran was prepared. She brandished the plastic shopping bag in front of her, words like 'flower' and 'margarine' visible through the thin material. "I thought we could do something to celebrate Kazuha-chan's victory tomorrow." Kazuha-chan blushed an impressive scarlet and quickly denounced Ran's assessment of her chances. Ran gave herself a mental pat on the back.

As a superstitious person, Kazuha-chan disapproved quite strongly of celebrating a victory before the battle. Like counting chickens before they hatched, it was a sure way to incur bad luck.

"Ran-chan, don't say that. You'll jinx it." Flustered and loud, Kazuha-chan provided a suitable distraction, and her fascinating reaction gave Ran a reasonable excuse for ducking out earlier. While Ran wasn't exactly in the habit of baiting the girl, it wasn't at all strange for her to engage in a bit of good natured teasing.

"Chocolate chip cookies…" She said enticingly. Ran looked straight at kazuha-chan, but her attention was firmly focused on the cold curiosity radiating from just below her line of sight. Shinichi was the only one here that needed to be convinced. Kazuha-chan would fall to the temptation of delicious fresh-baked goodies, but Shinichi wasn't so simple. "Think of it, the warm gooey goodness. If we start them now, they'll be ready right after dinner."

Ran waited, counting down the seconds as her friend's resistance weakened and faltered. "O.K fine!" Kazuha-chan knew when she was beat. "As long as we don't call them a victory celebration."

"Alright," Ran chuckled, "we'll call them dessert," she conceded, sauntering toward the kitchen, followed by a slightly mollified Kazuha-chan. Oh, but she wasn't done yet, "We'll just have to save some for tomorrow's celebration." Ran's chuckle took on an evil edge as she ignored the other girl's whines of protest.

She could still feel those eyes on her as the kitchen door swung shut. She had three days to watch and decide, but she wouldn't be the only one watching.

* * *

><p>Diner was a real learning experience. Ran learned that Hattori-kun didn't like green peppers and Kazuha-chan liked to tease him for being picky. She learned that Conan-kun's class was planning a field trip to the zoo, that the Osakan police force was thinking of forming a baseball team, how the latest novel in a popular mystery series ended, and that while Hattori-kun had read the book, Conan-kun had not.<p>

There was a lot to see, now that she was watching. Shinichi thought the zoo was pointless, figured the Tokyo police baseball team would win hands down, and hated to have endings spoiled. Every word that slipped out of the boy's mouth had a double meaning. How had she ever missed the undercurrents of thought or the subtle manipulations? A single moment had ripped Shinichi's mask away, Conan-kun was no more.

The thought was a difficult one. Her cute little brother who she loved and confided in didn't actually exist. This whole time, Shinichi had been manipulating her feelings like a puppet master, stringing her along with a tangle of logic and psychology. With the knowledge of Shinichi's deception, Ran lost two of the most important people she had. Conan-kun was gone forever, and Shinichi…well, she still hadn't decided how to feel about him yet.

Defiantly angry. And hurt, disappointed, confused, and angry. But there was also relief at having found him, and something else warm and familiar. That warmth wasn't enough to forgive him, not yet, but maybe it was enough to give her patience. She had time to decide later, for now though, Ran did not consider herself above petty revenge.

Her smile was not a happy smile, but before Shinichi could react to the murderous atmosphere, Ran slipped into the polite hostess smile instead. "Hattori-kun?"

"Hm?" Hatori-kun said around a mouthful of food. Kazuha-chan glared at him for being rude, but he wasn't paying her much attention.

Ran leaned forward, the picture of rapt interest. "Solve any good cases lately?"

Hattori-kun straightened, took a deep breath, opened his mouth to speak, and was cut off by his childhood friend. Ran was impressed by the girl's keen sense of timing. "Ran-chan, don't get him started. If you let him think you're interested, he'll talk your ear off. You don't need to be so polite."

"I'm not just being polite, I don't mind. Hattori-kun is a brilliant detective. His cases are bound to be interesting." Hattori-kun nudged Shinichi in the ribs when Ran said 'brilliant', and Shinichi pretended not to be miffed. So Ran had been right about their relationship. Hattori-kun was nobody's '-niichan', they were more like rivals: friendly but fiercely competitive.

Without further fuss, Hattori-kun launched into a detailed narrative of his recent accomplishments, all the while covertly glancing at Shinichi, gloating. Ran smiled politely, but she wasn't really listening. She was too busy watching Shinichi squirm. If he wanted to stay hidden, he couldn't complain when others took the spotlight, and if it bothered him then tough. He deserved it.

Ran realized the story was over. "Wow, I'm impressed. You're a really great detective, Hattori-kun." Hattori-kun preened, Shinichi scowled, and Ran smiled politely. This was fun.

Kazuha-chan looked at her suspiciously. "What about Kudo-kun?" Ran cursed her friend's perceptiveness. But it provided her an opportunity to score a direct hit.

"Shinichi? To be honest, I think he's losing his edge." She ignored Hattori-kun's amused smirk. "He's just been away on this case for so long. You'd think he could have solved it by now." She sighed dramatically.

"Hey," Shinichi chirped, as if trying to remind everyone that he was there too. "Uncle solved a really tough murder too. Even the police couldn't figure it out."

"That's right, Conan-kun," Ran used her big sister voice, the voice that calmed children and irritated everyone else. Shinichi was not a child. "Dad and Hattori-kun are both very good detectives. If you pay close attention, you can learn how to be a real detective too." Hattori-kun's smirk turned into a chuckle, Shinichi turned red, and Ran smiled politely. This was definitely fun.

"By the way, Conan-kun, do you need help with any of your homework? I know it can be difficult to get the hang of new characters, If you're having trouble keeping up you can tell me, alright? I won't think less of you." Hattori-kun had given up all attempts at hiding his giggling. Shinichi simply stared at the table for a few seconds.

Victory glowed warm in her belly. _Take that!_ She thought, but Shinichi wasn't as beaten as he looked. His head came up with a snap, all traces of embarrassment gone. One moment he was Shinichi, then blink, and he's Conan-kun again. "Alright, Ran-neechan. This week's work wasn't bad at all, but sensei says that the next set of kanji is a little tougher. I might need help after all." Hattori-kun was now coughing violently, having choked on his own laughter.

"Of course, Conan-kun. You just have to ask." He was good, Ran admitted to herself. She felt marginally less stupid for falling for his lies. Who could ever picture Shinichi asking for help with his handwriting? It made her wonder why he was trying so hard. What was he hiding from?

Then Ran decided she didn't care. For all she knew, Shinichi could be hiding from bad guys, fan girls, or even creditors. She was completely in the dark, and Shinichi had chosen to leave her there. It didn't really matter what he was hiding from.

Conversation followed much the same pattern as dinner wound toward its end. Hattori-kun and Kazuha-chan took turns telling stories and Ran grabbed every opportunity to poke at Shinichi where it hurt, his pride. Shinichi, for his part, held up well under her attack, but she could tell he was losing ground. Part of her brain mumbled something about being harsh and was promptly hushed by the part that was enjoying vengeance. She wouldn't feel bad for putting him in his pace. If Shinichi wanted to be a child, Ran would treat him like a child.

Suddenly the food was gone, and all eyes went to Ran. As host, it was her duty to officially close the meal and provide instructions to her guests. Perhaps arrange for entertainment, or set up sleeping arrangements. "Well then." She started decisively, reaching to gather the dishes. "I'll bring out some tea for everyone. The cookies should be done by the time I finish cleaning up."

"Hold on Ran. You shouldn't have to do all the dishes yourself. You've been more than accommodating. And I helped with the cooking, so I think the boys can clean up for once." Kazuha-chan's voice contained a hint of a wink and Ran recalled their earlier plan for retribution. Roping the boys into washing dishes would pay Hattori-kun back for picking on Conan-kun earlier, since Conan-kun was too short to perform that chore effectively.

Right now Ran didn't feel like punishing Hattori-kun when Shinichi was the one at fault. "That alright, I can handle it. You two are guests, and Conan-kun has trouble reaching the sink."

"Don't be silly Ran-chan." Kazuha-chan was looking at her funny. Ran worried. She kept forgetting that Kazuha-chan noticed a lot more than people gave her credit for. "The chore will deflate Heiji's head a little."

"Hey! That's not fair! You're trying to pin it all on me." That was Hattori-kun, sharp as ever.

"Well, duh!" Ran winced internally. The volume was climbing again. She had hoped they would settle down a bit after the last round. "Of course it's all on you! We wouldn't expect Conan-kun to bail you out. He's too small to help much. He can barely reach the counter! You're going to do the dishes, and we're going to sit back and relax."

She dared him with her eyes to object. Luckily for everyone's eardrums, Hattori-kun didn't get a proper chance to respond. Shinichi's small voice was unexpected and caught everyone's attention. "I can do it."

Kazuha-chan blinked. "Huh?" like she had forgotten there were other people in the room.

"I can do it. I can help. I want to." Ran thought he suddenly sounded as young as he looked.

"You don't have too Conan-kun, the point was kinda for Heiji to do it all himself." Hattori-kun's muffled 'I knew it' was diligently ignored. Kazuha-chan's voice softened when she spoke to the boy and Ran had to stop herself from interfering. It was one thing for Shinichi to trick Ran with his charming lies, but she couldn't stand Kazuha-chan falling for it. She wanted to yell and curse and rip away his masks until he had nowhere left to hide.

Instead, she settled for the next best thing. "Are you sure, Conan-kun?" She packed as much motherly concern into her voice as she could. "Hattori-kun is big enough to handle doing the dishes by himself."

The stubborn little boy insisted, "I can help." To prove it he started gathering up the empty plates in his small arms. Ran tutted a warning. "Be careful, Conan-kun. Those look heavy." she gently removed him of his burden before shoving the stack towards Hattori-kun, "we'd better let '-nichan' take care of those for you. Here" – she handed Shinichi the plastic cups – "these won't break if you drop them."

Hattori-kun was still struggling with his laughter as he disappeared into the kitchen, Shinichi trailing behind like a kicked puppy. As soon as the door shut firmly, Kazuha-chan dropped her smile and stared thoughtfully at Ran.

Ran's heart beat a little faster. "What?" she said in response to the obvious scrutiny.

"What's up with you tonight?" Kazuha-chan's question was a demand.

"What do you mean?" Feigning ignorance wouldn't work, but it might buy Ran a little time to think. If Kazuha-chan wanted answers she'd keep asking until she got some answers. Ran just had to decide how much of the truth to tell.

"Don't give me that. Something is wrong and I want to know what." Ran was silent. "Something to do with Kudo-kun?" Ran flinched.

"Was I really that obvious?" If Kazuha-chan picked it up that easily, maybe Ran wasn't as good at acting as she thought.

Kazuha-chan shook her head. "No. Not really. It just that one moment we were complaining about boys, then you take off for no reason and come back with smiles and cookies? If I didn't think something was up, I wouldn't be much of a friend. Something happened, and it has to do with Kudo-kun. Spill it."

The temptation was there to just lay it all out in the open. It would be nice to be able to talk to someone who understood how aggravating childhood friends who were also detectives could be. Kazuha-chan might understand how left out and unimportant Ran felt. Kazuha-chan was a trustworthy person, what was the harm in letting her in on the secret?

A pair of freezing eyes appeared in her mind. That girl – Shinichi's scary little friend who knew more than she told. Those eyes warned her that telling anyone anything about shrinking detectives was a very bad idea. Ran really did not want those eyes angry at her.

But Kazuha-chan was a girl who would accept nothing less than the truth. _A half truth then,_ Ran decided. "It's Shinichi." Kazuha-chan nodded at the confirmation. "I just…I found out that he's been lying to me about something important for a long time."

Kazuha-chan's eyes narrowed. "He's not with another girl, is he? That jerk. If I ever find him I'm gonna…"

"No, no. It's not really like that. Even if it were, I'm perfectly capable of handling him myself." Ran paused and sighed. "It's just complicated. I can't tell you any of the details, but what it comes down to is he doesn't trust me. If he lied about this one thing what else has he lied about?" Her voiced was hushed to keep out of the kitchen where the boys were, but it was angry. "How can I ever trust him again? Should I even bother?"

Ran expected her friend to leap to her defense and denounce Shinichi the liar as a lost cause. Instead, in the smallest voice Ran had ever heard from her, Kazuha-chan said "Sometimes it's okay to lie."

Ran was starting to get used to the feeling of pure unadulterated shock, but she didn't like it one bit. "Wha?" It was the only thing her poor confused mind could come up with at short notice.

"Sometimes it's okay to lie." Kazuha-chan was more sure of herself this time, but Ran noticed the beginnings of a blush. Why was sweet honest Kazuha-chan defending a liar? Shinichi was firmly in the wrong here.

"Like when? When is it ever alright to lie about something important to someone you're supposed to care about?" This conversation was not going well. Instead of finding support, Ran felt compelled to defend he position.

For a while neither of them spoke. The watched each other, trying to decide how much to say. Finally Kazuha-chan broke the silence with a sharp edged command. "Ask me if I love Heji."

Once again, all Ran could come up with was "Wha?"

"Ask me if I love Heji." What was Kazuha-chan playing at? Of course the girl was in love with Hattori-kun, it was obvious to anyone with eyes. Ran had thought the only two people who hadn't known were Hattori-kun and Kazuha-chan herself. It now seemed that only one person was unaware of the girl's feelings.

"Why?" Ran was honestly confused.

"Just ask!" Ran was sure Kazuha-chan didn't mean to be snappy. She was clearly uncomfortable with the whole topic. If she blushed any harder, her face might melt.

"Are you in love with Hattori-kun?"

Kazuha-chan looked her straight in the eye and lied "no." Okay, now Ran was even more confused. "Ask me again." The other girl insisted.

Frustration leaked into Ran's voice when she asked again. Kazuha-chan lied again. What on earth was going on? "Why?" the question was sharper then Ran intended, but Kazuha-chan didn't flinch back.

"Sometimes it's okay to lie." Kazuha-chan let her point sink in before continuing. "I do not love Heji because for now it's better that way. I know the truth, and you know the truth, but he is not ready to know, so I'll lie every time you ask."

Ran didn't get any time to process that bit of information. The moment was completely ruined by a loud crash and a surprised cry from behind the kitchen door. Quick steps brought both girls through the meager portal to witness the scene

Hattori-kun was standing at the sink, sleeves rolled up past his elbows and soapy water dripping off his hands. Beside him stood a tall stool that normally waited in the cupboard under the sink and a couple of damp dishcloths on the counter. He stared in silent shock at the source of the noise.

On the floor a little away from the stool, the small boy picked himself out of a pile of broken dishes. All that remained of the dinner plates were jagged white pieces scattered across the floor. Shinichi stood slowly on shaky legs.

Nobody moved. There was a heavy feeling of 'what the hell just happened' hanging in the room. Shinichi looked up at her, his face as blank and clueless as everyone else's. "I'm sorry." He _sounded_ just like a child, he _looked_ just like a child; Ran wasn't sure if it was an act anymore. "I'm sorry," he repeated, glancing over at the stool, "I just… I forgot…" whatever idea was in his head refused to be articulated.

Ran followed his eyes to the stool, and then back to the mess on the ground and suddenly it all made sense. She could picture it all too easily: Shinichi standing on the stool insisting he wasn't as useless as people seemed to think, talking with a friend as an equal, and forgetting for just a moment that his feet didn't reach the ground. One missed step and reality came crashing back down on the unsuspecting boy. He forgot.

Instinct took over, and before Ran could edit herself she swept into the middle of the mess and caught the little Shinichi up in a tight hug. She didn't – couldn't – say anything, she only held on. Shinichi wriggled but she didn't loosen her grip. "Ran-neechan?" He was suspicious again, she realized. She should say something. She had to keep the act up. She had to pretend she hadn't seen his look of helpless frustration.

This wasn't fun anymore. Ran let him go and looked sternly at him. "I told you to be careful, Conan-kun. Are you alright? You should have let Hattori-kun do it after all." Hattori-kun was not laughing.

Shinichi acted out his own part, "I'm alright. I'm sorry about the dishes Ran-neechan. I'll clean them up right away, so don't be angry, okay?" Ran felt like crying. The whole situation was just so unfair. Why couldn't Shinichi just tell her the truth?

"I'm not angry at you, Conan-kun. There just dishes, we can replace them. I'm glad you're not hurt. Were you standing on the stool again? You know you're not supposed to do that. If you need help reaching things you should ask."

"I'm sorry."

"Just be more careful, okay?" He nodded his agreement, and Ran reached out and ruffled his hair. "Good. Now, will everyone please get out of my kitchen, I don't want anyone tracking shards of glass all over the house." Shinichi looked like he was going to protest, "Out. I can clean it up easier on my own."

With a minimum of awkward shuffling, Ran managed to get the three of them back into the living room with a cup of tea each. Hattori-kun was uncharacteristically quiet, and Kazuha-chan was compelled to fill the air space with nervous chatter. Shinichi was acting Conan-kun in full force, responding favorably to Kazuha-chan's inevitable fussing.

Alone in the kitchen, Ran's breath hitched. She coughed lightly in an attempt to clear the knot of emotions lodged in her throat. She began collecting the larger of the shattered pieces and wondered for the thousandth time what Shinichi had gotten himself into this time.

She gently placed the sharp glass in the wastebasket under the sink. It wasn't fair. Ran was keenly aware of her own ignorance. Hattori-kun knew, that weird girl knew. Shinichi's parents probably knew too. It wasn't fair that Ran cared so much and wasn't allowed to know.

A broom and dustpan took care of the smaller shards easily and Ran soon found herself with nothing to occupy her hands. She had to go back out there soon. She had to face him again. It had been easy to treat him like a child when she had been angry at him, he deserved a little humiliation for all the times he'd watched her cry over him. But Ran wasn't angry anymore. She couldn't stay angry after seeing the helplessness in his eyes. Now Ran was hurt and confused and uncertain. How could she go out there now?

A bell chimed a warning; time was up, the cookies were done.

* * *

><p>AN: Argh. Finally. I wrote this chapter at least three times, but it never wanted to come out right. Its far from perfect, but its the best its gonna get. Next up, my first attempt ever at solving a case. Stay tuned. Grab some popcorn and watch me fumble.<p>

Another note, I need some help. One thing that I am absolutely terrible at is naming original characters. I'll spoil it right now, next chapter takes place at Kazuha-chan's Aikido tournament. I need names for several competitors, male and female, as well as a couple of police officers. If you think of anything good and you don't mind if I borrow it, shoot it to me, or I could spend the whole chapter saying 'hey you over there.'


	3. Chapter 3

"GO KAZUHA-CHAN!" Ran was on her feet with one hand punching though the air and the other close to her mouth to help carry the sound. The time was long past for subtle support. Politeness had no place in this arena. This was a battlefield where the slightest hesitation could spell defeat. "CRUSH HER!" Ran screamed and whistled, ducked and punched, blind to the other spectators filling the cheap bleachers. Her entire being was focused on the match in front of her, all her effort went in to pushing her friend towards victory. Why else would she have brought the cookies?

Kazuha-chan showed no sign of hearing Ran's hollers, no awareness outside of her opponent and her goal. That was good. Because even from far away, Ran could tell that the burly girl – just barely inside Kazuha-chan's weight class – was good. Really good. Maybe good enough to win. Kazuha-chan was fast and skilled, the opponent was patient and powerful. Their aikido styles were well matched, and neither had gained the advantage.

This kind of challenging match up was exactly why martial arts were so exciting. Ran lived for it. Testing the limits of her body and mind, pushing them as far as they would go. Learning about herself, her opponent and the world from a flurry of precise activity. Kazuha-chan probably felt the same, although aikido style was vastly different from Ran's preferred karate, the competitive spirit was no less.

Ran gasped and winced. Kazuha-chan had gotten too close, she wasn't prepared and she was caught up in a clever shoulder throw. This could be the end. A mach like this was measured by points, execution, skill, and strength, among other things were judged and scored. This throw was good enough to win the match, if it succeeded. Halfway through the manoeuvre, the opponent faltered, lost control and Kazuha-chan took her chance.

The moment her opponent waivered, Kazuha-chan shifted her weight just enough to alter the balance of momentum. When she hit the ground she rolled with it, grasping on to the bigger girls wrist and flinging her away. Within moments both competitors were back on their feet, circling each other warily. Ran was suitably impressed. A recovery like _that_ required lightning quick thinking and Kazuha-chan rose to the challenge.

The tide was turning; Kazuha-chan slowly took the upper hand. The opponents movements became slower and less focused, her powerful strikes lacked impact. The larger girl was tiring and Kazuha-chan redoubled her efforts.

The whistle blew. Both girls were panting and dripping sweat, proof of the fierce battle they engaged in. Kazuha-chan was declared the winner and the bleachers erupted into cheers, Ran loudest of all. The fight had been one of the most exciting of the day. It was the kind of match spectators expected to see in the finals or semi-finals. This early in the tournament, it was a rare treat.

Kazuha-chan allowed herself a satisfied smile. Ran was too far to hear the words, but she saw Kazuha-chan speaking to the big girl in a friendly manner. Probably along the lines of 'you're really good, that was a great match,' or something equally sporting and kind. Kazuha-chan bowed politely. The other girl remained standing, chest heaving and legs wobbling. She had put everything she had into the fight and lost anyway. The girl pushed past Kazuha-chan and strode over to an unoccupied bench to nurse her pride in peace. Ran caught Kazuha-chan sticking her tongue out at the girl.

Minuets latter Ran made her way through the crowed to where Kazuha-chan stood at the tournament board, looking to see when, where and with who her next match would be. Ran snuck up behind her and said loudly next to her ear, "congratulations!" Kazuha-chan jumped and spun at the same time, ready to clobber who- or whatever had startled her.

She gasped and clutched at her heart, "Ran-chan! Don't do that! I coulda killed you. You coulda killed _me_!" Ran smiled and repeated her congratulations before hugging the girl fiercely. Kazuha-chan numbered in her small group of close friends, and Ran had absolutely no compunctions about showing affection in public. Kazuha-chan hugged back with equal enthusiasm.

"I can't believe I did it." Kazuha-chan was breathless with excitement.

"I know! That was amazing!" Ran shook her head, "I wasn't sure if you would make it for a second, but you pulled it off."

"Do you know who that was?" Ran silently admitted that no, she had no clue who the skilled opponent was. "Her name is Hayashi Hariko, she won last year's tournament. The reigning champion and I beat her." Kazuha-chan devolved into high decibel, unintelligible squeaking and Ran had to fight not to cover her ears.

Kazuha-chan wandered back into normal tones, "She was probably my toughest competition here." Ran gave her a skeptical look. "Don't worry, I'm not going to let my guard down, but Ran, I think I can win this!" Her eyes sparkled in anticipation. "Where's that idiot Heji? I told him I could beat her."

Ran shifted her gaze to the corner of the room. Boys were all idiots. "Uh, he left." She flinched away from the sudden angry heat waves pouring off of the martial arts champ. Ran hurried to explain. "He was complaining about all the noise and people around. He said that he was sure you would win so he didn't need to stay and watch. He grabbed Conan-kun and went to get himself some coffee."

Kazuha-chan said nothing, allowing her thunderous expression to speak for itself. Ran actually began to pity Hattori-kun for what the girl would do to him when he got back. Ran knew it was just an excuse to talk to Shinichi alone, but Hattori-kun was not as smart as he thought he was if he was willing to brush Kazuha-chan off for coffee with a friend.

"Where is he?" Kazuha-chan was eerily quiet. Hattori-kun had better be a fast runner.

"He said something about the shop down the street just before he took off." Kazuha-chan started walking. "What about the tournament?" Hattori-kun might be an insensitive jerk, but he didn't deserve whatever it was Kazuha-chan was considering.

"There's plenty of time. I can deal with Heji, grab a coffee and be back before the next round. No problem." She didn't _sound_ angry, but Ran new better.

Ran stepped in front of her with her hands raised in warding. "Hold on Kazuha-chan. You want him sorry, not broken. Maybe you should just wait till you calm down a little." Kazuha-chan dodged around her and Ran sighed. There would be no reasoning with her now. Hopefully Hattori-kun was prepared to deal with what he had started.

"Hey, Hariko-kun. C'mon. what are you waiting for, Shun-kun's match is starting. He'll be pissed if you miss it." A snippet of conversation floated through the crowded dome. The university pavilion was never designed for acoustics, but for some reason, Ran heard that voice loud and clear. There was an unnameable quality to it that set her on edge. She turned to find its source through the crowed.

It was too familiar. Not familiar in the sense that she had met the speaker before. Not even familiar like a de ja vu conversation she could swear had already happened. The floating voice was familiar like an overused plotline in a bad soap opera. Familiar because Ran knew what came next.

"Ran-chan? Hey. Ran-chan!" Ran didn't have time to deal with Kazuha-chan. The boys were safe for now - hurried footsteps behind her told Ran that Kazuha-chan was following her - so Ran was free to focus on the task at hand: finding that voice and hopefully proving her instincts wrong.

Her steps took her over to the bench where the defeated champion was still sitting, half slumped to the side with her chin on her chest. The boy who had been speaking decided that just speaking wasn't getting anywhere and he reached out to shake the girl's shoulder. The bad feeling in Ran's stomach twisted uncomfortably when the girl didn't move.

Kazuha-chan came up behind her, quiet and careful. She probably felt it too, hanging out with Hattori-kun all the time. "Hey. Hariko-kun. Wake up. Are you okay? C'mon, get up." The boy's gentle shake became desperate, and the heavy girl flopped bonelessly to the side. Something reached up and wrapped icy fingers around Ran's heart. Of course. Perfect.

"Excused me," Ran reached forwarded to check the girls pulse. There wasn't one. "Kazuha-chan, go get a paramedic." There was always a staffed first aid tent at these kinds of events, just in case. Just because Ran couldn't find a pulse didn't mean the girl didn't have one. They needed to get professionals on scene as fast as possible. "Tell them we'll probably need an ambulance. And-" Ran hesitated, but the sick feeling in her chest wasn't going away, "tell them to get the police here as well." Kazuha-chan's eyes went wide. She knew what Ran was implying, and she didn't like it.

* * *

><p>The girl was dead. It was too late. From what Ran overheard from the paramedics, her lungs had stopped working and she had suffocated. Ran was worried, really worried, because Kazuha-chan was the last person to actually speak to the girl, right after a rather violent competition. Hattori-kun and Shinichi still weren't back, and the police detective who had just arrived had already decided that Kazuha-chan was somehow involved.<p>

"I didn't do anything! I swear! There were hundreds of people watching the match, are you implying that I somehow managed to poison her without any of them noticing?" Kazuha-chan wasn't nearly as worried as she should be. If she realized just how much trouble she was in, she would have had the good sense to keep her mouth shut. Instead she was standing on her toes glaring up and shouting at a man who had already made up his remarkably closed mind.

"Did you?" He glowered back at her. _Uh oh,_ Ran thought as Kazuha-chan practically stopped breathing. She was getting well past the point of having any control over her own actions and wouldn't stop to think of consequences. Ran stepped forward, hoping to diffuse the situation before her friend ended up arrested for assaulting an officer. Ran had to admit that the idea of hitting the jerk right in the nose was tempting, it just wasn't productive.

"I can vouch for her. I watched the whole thing and Kazuha-chan didn't do anything other than fight. This is a tournament, you can't arrest her for competing." If it had just been Ran's word, she had no doubt the officer would have ignored her like he ignored Kazuha-chan, but the spectators gathered behind her nodded and mumbled agreement.

The fool just looked down his nose at them. "What about after?" He pointed sharply toward his fuming suspect, "she had plenty of time to approach the victim after the fight and kill her."

Ran was about to provide Kazuha-chan with an alibi, but she was interrupted "Why the hell would I do that?" Kazuha-chan really needed to shut up, before she managed to talk herself into a jail cell, or at the very least an interrogation room.

He looked smug. Stupid man thought he had it all figured out. "It's obvious. You were so angry after being defeated that you killed your opponent." He nodded, pleased with himself.

"Oh. So I killed her cause because I can't stand to lose, did I?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "Did y-"

"NO I DID NOT!" Kazuha-chan screamed in frustration. "If you weren't such an IDIOT and could actually do your job, you'd already know that I WON!" Ran hit her palm to her forehead even as the crowd once again nodded collective agreement. It was a mistake to call him and idiot. Even though he was one.

The so called detective's cheeks turned red. Ran couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment or anger. Probably both, she decided. "That's it girlie. You're under arrest!"

"On what charges?" Ran's mouth was open, but the voice wasn't hers. Hattori-kun pushed his way through the growing crowd, followed by three other teenagers all dressed in the same crisp white uniform as Kazuha-chan. Their school logo on their backs marked them as belonging to the same club as the victim.

The stupid detective glared at the new intruder. "The murder of Hayashi Hariko-san."

Hattori-kun's smile knocked the smug look off of the man's face. "On what grounds?" he challenged. The officer sputtered, but did not answer. "I thought not. You have no evidence. You can't arrest her."

"She had motive and opportunity –"

"I think we can all agree that the girl was alive and well at the end of Kazuha's match." Hattori-kun looked around, playing the crowed. Most of the people here agreed that the police detective was being a moron. Hattori-kun gestured to the three people directly behind him. "If you'll talk to these guys, they'll tell ya that Kauzha wasn't anywhere near the victim after the fight. And I'm guessing that nee-chan will be able to tell you where Kazuha actually _was_."

"It's true," one of the teen competitors said, "no-one went near Hariko-kun until I tried to wake her up." Ran realized that this was the same boy that was there when the body was discovered. His light brown hair and green eyes were distinctive, and he was taller than most of the people around him. A foreigner perhaps, though he spoke the language well.

"How can you be sure?" If Ran didn't know any better, she might have thought the officer was finally doing his job. His petulant tone told her otherwise. The oaf was actually disappointed that Kazuha-chan was putting up a defence.

"I'm sure." The boy nudged one of his companions, a small indistinctive fellow with glasses. "Shun-kun here had a match soon after Hariko-kun's ended. I promised him I'd watch and make sure she went to cheer him on." The bespectacled boy nodded.

The officer narrowed his eyes. "Then why didn't you get her up earlier? Surely it would have been more convenient?"

The third of the three club members spoke up. "Hayashi-chan hated being disturbed while she was thinking. It was her habit to go over a match in her head, especially if she lost. She said it helped her eliminate performance flaws. She was always trying to improve her technique." The girl was smaller than either of her male companions, but she somehow avoided looking frail. Her small frame was well muscled. She could probably do more than hold her own in a fight, especially if her opponent made the mistake of judging her by her stature.

"There ya have it. She was alone the whole time after the match until she was discovered dead. Soichiro-san was watching the whole time because he promised Shun-san he'd make sure Hariko-san saw the match, and the reason Soichiro-san waited so long was because he didn't want to disturb her." Hattori-kun must have felt the need to reiterate, just in case the man really was as dumb as he seemed.

"Toldja I didn't do it!" Kazuha-chan calmed down as soon as Hattori-kun had returned. She had probably been more worried than she seemed. The corner of Ran's mouth lifted slightly. Hattori-kun was Kazuha-chan's shining knight of justice, or something equally romantic and cheesy.

It was Ran's turn to add strength to the argument that Kazuha-chan simply did not have the opportunity to commit the crime. "Kazuha-chan and I were standing over by the match board. We were checking to see who Kazuha-chan would be fighting next."

"You two seem to be close. Pardon me if I don't just take your word for it." The investigator crossed his arms and continued to glare suspiciously at Kazuha-chan. "Just because no one saw her do it, doesn't mean she didn't."

This was getting ridiculous. "There were plenty of people around. I'm sure if you ask around, you'll find someone else who will tell you the same thing. I was with Kazuha-chan from right after the match until she left to get the paramedics and the police. I don't think I have to tell you Hayashi-san was already dead at that point." Ran felt a little bad for speaking of the victim so bluntly, but she was losing what patience she had left.

"That's right. This girl knew to call the police. Why would she do that unless she somehow new that the victim was murdered. Somehow as in she's responsible." It was amazing really. The guy just would not give up Kazuha-chan as the perp. There was a murderer walking around free because this incompetent fool was trying to make a quick arrest. Ran wondered who he was trying to brown nose by closing the case as fast as possible. Surely he wasn't one of Megure-keibu's men, even though they were in the inspectors jurisdiction.

Ran sighed, exasperated. "My father is a detective," she explained, "I told Kazuha-chan to call the police because I suspected there _might_ have been foul play. You really have no reason to think Kazuha-chan is responsible for the poor girls death."

"Have ya even determined cause of death yet?" Hattori-kun asked. Judging from the officer's lack of reply, the answer was no. "It could have been an accident, or natural. You can't just cry murder whenever ya feel like it."

"And just who are you? What makes you think you can just walk into the middle of an official investigation and start giving orders?"

"You call what yer doin' investigating? Buddy, you need to go back to the academy. This's a joke!" What the hell was Hattori-kun trying to accomplish by arguing with the buffoon? He was a detective for goodness sake, he and Shinichi should be looking for evidence, not provoking incompetent officials!

Wait. Where was Shinichi? Ran hadn't seen him at all. She had just assumed that he was with Hattori-kun, but looking around, the little boy was nowhere to be found.

Hattori-kun and the officer were trading escalating insults, but Ran had stopped listening. She edged away from the gathering of people, keeping her eyes cast down, looking for the diminutive detective through a sea of legs. Ah. She caught sight of him as he snuck behind another officer. Not a detective, just a regular cop who was shaking his head trying not to look embarrassed by his superior's behavior.

Ran's gaze followed the little boy as he skirted around the crime scene before suddenly popping up next to the body. Hattori-kun's verbal match with the detective had grown in volume. All eyes were on the spectacle and nobody noticed when a little kid began systematically examining a corpse.

Ran struggled to keep a smile off her lips. So that was there game. Of the teen detectives, Shinichi was the more likely to not get caught poking around where he didn't belong, and Hattori-kun was realy good at providing distractions. Ran had never thought that either Hattori-kun or Shinichi were of the type to cooperate with anyone, but they managed to work together remarkably.

And then it all went bad.

One of the regular officers got tired of the display and returned to his duties: guarding the crime scene. "Oy, kid. You're not supposed to be here." Ran was moving forward to claim Shinichi before he got into any trouble when the stupid detective decided to take personal offense to the perimeter breach.

The fool man stomped over to where Shinichi was crouched and grabbed him roughly by the collar before Shinichi had time to react. Ran was shocked by the abruptness of the movement. So was Shinichi, judging by his undignified squeak. Ran could only watch in fascinated horror as the man _lifted_ Shinichi with one hand, bringing the boy up to eye level.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" The man was shouting not six inches from Shinichi's face and the boy winced at the volume.

"I was just…" The man shook Shinichi roughly, cutting off whatever excuse he was going to offer.

"Never mind! I don't care. I'm done with you annoying brats coming into _my_ crime scene, figuring you can do my job better than I can. I don't want to hear anything out of you, or that other brat, so just get out and stay out!" With one final shake the idiot threw, actually _threw_ the child across the police tape boundary, not really caring where or how the boy landed.

Ran's fascinated horror devolved into just plain horror. She watched – not quick enough help – as little Shinichi flew awkwardly through the air, an expression of pure shock on his face. Ran mentally braced herself for the collision, not wanting to think of what damage the unforgiving ground could cause to the small body if he happened to land the wrong way. She vaguely recognized the same disbelieving feeling mirrored on Hattori-kun's face.

Shinichi's shock dropped away and focused intent took its place. Moments before he hit the ground, he twisted in just such a way that he managed to roll instead of bounce or slide. It was amazing to watch. The first point of contact was his elbow which he used to shift his momentum from something down into something forward. He ducked his head and let his shoulder take the force of the landing, following through with his hip before coming up to his feet with a few quick steps.

Shinichi hmfed, dusted himself off, and casually examined the small scrape on his right elbow before remembering that he was supposed to be seven years old. Then his breath hitched in a way that had all parents and older siblings wincing in preparation for a fit. Ran was too relieved that Shinichi was alright to be impressed by either his gymnastics or his acting.

The relief was short lived when comprehension and hard, cold anger shoved it roughly out of the way. How dare he! Kudo Shinichi was the best detective Ran had ever met, and this fool just picked him up and _tossed_ him from a crime scene! Shinichi's breath hitched again. At least right now, acting the part of Conan-kun's big sister would let her do exactly what she wanted to: chew out this looser cop.

She hurried over to the boy and scooped him up, hushing him before he dissolved into tears, much to the relief of the crowd. Then she gathered up all of her anger and focused it on one small target. Ran turned slowly, like evil things did in horror films. The detective flinched, and Ran filed the image away in the self satisfied folder of her brain. She advanced on him with quick, sharp, forceful steps, stopping inches from his face.

The man took a step backwards and Ran pressed her advantage. She had to look slightly up to glare properly at him, yet somehow the difference in height did not diminish her intimidation factor. Ran smiled and the officer swallowed. "I'm sorry," her voice was perfectly calculated to be polite, irritating, and frightening all at once. She could only hope her target had chills at the sound of it, and she rather thought he did. "I didn't catch your name."

The officer at least had enough sense to stammer out a reply "Yamada Rikouto"

"Well, Yamada-san, It seems there have been some unfortunate misunderstandings this afternoon. You seem to have mistaken my friend Kazuha-chan as a murderer, and an intelligent detective as a pest. Myself, I've mistaken you as a police detective. I'm very sorry for the confusion, it won't happen again." The man looked offended. Good for him.

"Not to worry, now that we understand the nature of our mistakes we can take steps to correct them. I will try to remember that behind your badge, you are an incompetent buffoon and incapable of the simplest of reasoning. You would do well to remember that Kazuha-chan is not guilty of anything, and Hattori Heiji is the son of the Osakan police chief, a respected detective in his own right, and more than capable of investigating circles around you." As Ran moved to turn away, Yamada-san's mouth opened as if to say something.

It could have been an apology, retaliation, or defence and it wouldn't have mattered because Ran didn't give him a chance to speak. "Oh. One more thing," Ran tossed the words over her shoulder. "If you so much as look at this boy the wrong way, I will see to it that you will spend the rest of your life writing parking tickets."

"Are you threatening me?" His voice was cold and dangerous.

Ran's laugh tinkled through the air. "Why yes I am. I'm surprised you noticed. You're more intelligent then I gave you credit for."

He fumed. "Now listen here. I won't stand for arrogant brats telling me what to do or little girls throwing about idle threats! I earned my position and I deserve to be treated with respect." His face was shadowed with anger and confusion. Ran looked at him, and kept looking at him as he slowly wilted under the weight of her gaze.

The man had no backbone, Ran realized. He was all frenzy and bluff, no substance at all. She stared him down, making it clear which of them was stronger. "I assure you Yamada-san, my threats are not idle. And as a piece of advice, you would do well to listen when Hattori-kun over there has something to say. Who knows? You may come out of this intact if you can manage to not screw it up anymore then you already have."

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><p>AN: First off, thanks to Hazelmoon for the names (Shun, Soichiro and Sumi. The other two oc's I named myself).<p>

Secondly, what do you think? My very first murder, I'm so proud *sniff* I'll get into the solution next chapter. This one was running a little long, completely without my permission.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi there, author here. Now I don't normally do disclaimers, but there is something I have to say, so listen up.** I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT AIKIDO**. Whew. So basicly everything in the this chapter and the last concerning Aikdo was completely invented and you should believe none of it. That is all.

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><p>Ran focused on breathing. The look on that stupid man's face had been uniquely satisfying. Maybe insulting his intelligence and threatening his career to his face and in public hadn't been the most tactful thing to do, but it sure felt good. There had actually been a few second of blessed silence in which the fool failed to formulate a response. The peace was unfortunately short lived.<p>

Ran forced herself to walk away, still carrying Shinichi close, before she really did do the man possibly permanent physical damage. She left him to rant at Hattori-kun, Kazuha-chan, and anyone else who would listen about stupid teenagers and hard working civil servants. The detective just didn't realize he was digging his own grave.

"Excuse me?" Ran asked an annoyed looking officer in genuine politeness, "Are you Megure-keibu's men? You look familiar."

"Actually yes, I remember seeing you a time or two before myself. I'm really sorry about this, Mori-san." He gestured toward his so-called superior apologetically.

"About that. Would you mind explaining just how that guy got put in charge?"

"Mori-san, I can assure you that if Megure-keibu knew Yamada-san was like _this_, he wouldn't have been put _on_ an investigation let alone in charge of one. He just transferred from another district and he had all of the appropriate credentials. This is my first time working with him."

"I see. Thank you for telling me." Ran did see. She understood perfectly.

Ran reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone, smiling at the officer conspiratorially. He returned the smile knowingly. A sequence of numbers and a few patient rings latter, and Ran heard a faintly annoyed voice in her ear. "_Hello?_"

"I'm sorry to bother you, Inspector. This is Mori Ran."

"_Oh Ran-kun. No bother at all. I was just going through some paperwork. The damned stuff never goes away. What can I do for you?_"

"Well, right now Conan-kun and I are at the university pavilion with Hattori-kun and Kazuha-chan."

"_So it was you who called the police there?_"

"Well, yes. I had a bad feeling, you see."

"_No need to explain, Ran-kun. Good investigators learn to trust their instincts. If Hattori-kun is there, I'm sure everything will be cleared up soon."_

"Actually inspector, I was wondering if you could help with that. You see…" Ran explained quickly and without judgment, letting the seasoned Inspector draw his own conclusion. Once he understood the situation, Megure-keibu assured her that it would be taken care of. He thanked her for letting him know of the problem before it could turn into a major embarrassment for the police department.

Ran closed the phone with a click and turned to watch the debacle. "This should be good," the officer beside her understood the situation too.

" – and I'm telling you that yer wrong! If you'd just shut up and LISTEN for a sec then –"

" – teenaged punks! I don't care what you have to say, I'M the guy with the badge, I'M the guy who gets to make decisions –"

Ran counted down the seconds in her head. If her timing was correct, it shouldn't be much longer.

"Buruburuburu. Buruburuburu." The argument that was less an argument and more a shouting contest stopped abruptly and the crowd looked around to find the source of the noise. A few people patted pockets and shook their heads.

"Ah, 'scuse me." Yamada-san reached into his jacket to retrieve the offending object. "Hello?" he was suddenly polite and conversational.

Ran giggled on the inside as she watched the man's face. Realization and growing horror spread across his features. "Yes sir. Of course sir. No, I just – yes. Sorry sir. But that's – no, I understand. Thank you sir." By the time the half heard conversation was over, the detective flushed a bright, embarrassed pink. He turned and leveled a heated glare at Ran. She smiled and waggled her fingers playfully at him. Idle threat indeed.

The detective narrowed his eyes further, but said nothing. Whatever Megure-keibu had said over the phone was having the proper effect on him. Speechlessness suited him better anyway. He turned back to the teens he had just been trying to arrest. Another moment of tense silence ticked by before Yamada-san bowed deeply, if stiffly. "Toyama-san, Hattori-san. Please accept my apologies." The words tumbled out of his mouth as if he couldn't wait to be rid of them. "I would be honored to listen to what you may have to say concerning the present case. Please treat me kindly."

It was a properly acceptable apology. Ran could almost hear the detective's brain working to come up with a way to salvage his situation. That he even bothered to try proved that he still hadn't realized just how badly he had screwed up. Ran and her father, Conan-kun, and Hattori-kun were liked and respected by the majority of the force here; the fool detective's back peddling was both amusing and futile. If he _got _to write parking tickets after this fiasco he'd be lucky.

Confused silence rang out through the auditorium as officers and spectators alike tried to adjust to the sudden change in atmosphere. Even Hattori-kun was quiet for a brief moment longer. He glanced at Ran, who lifted the cell phone in her hand and smiled slightly, and then back at the still bowing investigator. The click of pieces coming together was completely audible as Hattori-kun laughed loudly and without remorse.

"So old man Megure-keibu is your boss huh? That's just perfect." At his words Kazuha-chan's mouth formed a small 'oh'. "We did try to tell you, but _no_, a shiny badge makes you better than everyone else. You know if you just shut up for five seconds then maybe you could learn something useful. Seriously how thick do you got to be to-"

Ran would have kept listening to Hatori-kun's continued assault on the detective's intelligence, character, and manhood, but the kid in her arms started to squirm. "Ran-neechan," he whined, "let me down please. I need to go to the bathroom." Ran's arms tightened momentarily, but she forced herself to relax with a breath. At least he said please. "Alright, Conan-kun. Just make sure you don't get lost, okay?" He replied a cheery affirmative as she lowered him to the ground. When he took off, it was in the direction of the toilets, but Ran was sure he would double back as soon as he was out of sight.

It still stung that Shinichi worked so hard to avoid telling her the truth. Ran briefly considered following him, holding his hand and treating him like the child he pretended to be, but she promptly dismissed the thought. It would serve him right, but as much as she disliked being lied to, it wasn't all about her right now. Someone was dead, and purposefully keeping Shinichi from investigating was simply unthinkable.

It wasn't as if she was letting Shinichi go for _his_ sake. Someone here might be responsible for Hayashi-san's death. That someone deserved to be caught and made to stand before the law, and Shinichi could make that happen. Sure Hattori-kun was capable of handling a case on his own, but it just seemed wrong to deny the deceased any avenue of justice. As soon as this situation was cleared up, Ran would go back to making Shinichi's fake life difficult for the fun of it.

Ran was through with being left out of the loop though, so she kept a watch out for the boy, discreetly of course. Hattori-kun had gotten bored with scolding Yamada-san (Ran refused to address the fool as keiji, even in her own mind) and was now coordinating a proper investigation. Witnesses were being questioned and pictures were being taken; progress was finally being made. All the increased activity, however, would make it more difficult for a grade schooler to poke around the scene.

So Shinichi would leave the official investigation to Hattori-kun and chase down the flyaway leads himself. If Ran's thinking was correct, the kid would be popping up among the already processed witnesses any second now for a follow up interview. A suspect that had gone through police questioning without trouble would be off his guard, vulnerable to a soft voice and innocent smile.

Sure enough, Ran spotted Shinichi chatting up the three competitors from the dead girl's school. None of them seemed bothered by the little boy's curious questions, but no doubt they vastly underestimated the depth of his understanding. Shinichi was collecting all sorts of information unavailable to typical investigators. She sat on the nearby bleachers, quietly impressed with his resourcefulness. Shinichi had always fascinated her when he was in detective mode, being shorter and cuter didn't change that.

She caught herself smiling softly and had to forcibly remind herself that she was still very angry at him. Shinichi was the same brilliant and excitable boy she remembered, yet he had changed in significant ways. This new Shinichi was sneaky and subtle, new Shinichi hatted being put in the spotlight, new Shinichi didn't trust her; new Shinichi was scared, and it scared her. Ran did not like being scared, especially if she didn't know what she was supposed to be scared of, it made her angry.

Shinichi smiled and nodded as the girl he was talking too asked a question. He answered with a chirpy voice and exaggerated gestures, pointing over to where Hattori-kun was carefully examining the body. The girl looked surprised as she glanced between the detectives tall and short. Shinichi said something else that caused the girl to laugh warily and ruffle his hair. He waved cheerily and ran off into the crowd, leaving both Ran and the girl feeling like they'd missed something, though for vastly different reasons.

Shinichi was on to something, Ran just knew it. Behind the line of police tape, Hattori-kun stood from his thoughtful crouch near the body and idly turned his hat the right way around. He had a serious look on his face, like he was close to figuring something out. He looked around through the forest of legs, clearly searching for his pint sized sounding board. A few long strides brought him behind the little boy, who Hattori-kun then lifted bodily by the back of his shirt to bring him up to eye level. The startled and annoyed look on Shinichi's face soon disappeared. The boys spoke quietly and intensely, seeming to finish each other's thoughts, it was if the world around them had melted away.

"It looks bad, huh?" So engrossed was she in her study, Ran was barely able to keep from jumping as Kazuha-chan's voice came over her shoulder. Ran turned to face her friend, who was noticeably calmer now that she wasn't under the threat of arrest. "For Hayashi-han, I mean. It looks like she was murdered, doesn't it." Ran nodded in agreement. She and Kazuha-chan might not be able to read a crime scene, but they could understand their boys like picture books.

"So," Kazuha-chan, "who do you think did it?"

Rand considered. "Well we know it wasn't you." Kazuha huffed indignantly and Ran continued like she hadn't noticed. "Nobody approached her after your fight until the tall one, Soichiro-san, tried to wake her. So that would make him a good suspect, except for its never that simple. That Shun kid looks kind of shifty, why did he want Hayashi-san to watch his match?"

"Neither of those boys participated last year. Soichiro-han transferred from overseas, I think, but he's friendly and speaks well. Shun on the other hand is shy and doesn't speak much at all. I wouldn't have pegged him as a martial arts type; he's too hesitant. Now the other girl on the team - Otomi Sumi-han - is a good competitor, but she's often compared unfavorably with Hayashi-han." Kazuha-chan supposed.

"You're saying she was jealous. Is that enough of a motive to kill someone?" Ran questioned.

"I've seen people kill for less." Kazuha-chan countered. " 'sides, Hayshi-han beat Otomi-han in the match before mine. Otomi-han looked real upset." Ran had to admit the proposed motive was possible, but the girl wasn't near the victim at the time of death.

Soichiro-san had the clearest opportunity; he could easily have killed Hayashi-han while pretending to wake her. Hadn't there been a similar case? Something about politics and an old family grudge. Hattori-kun had been there to. Actually it was Ran's first time meeting him, and he hadn't made a good first impression. Feeding alcohol to a sick kid, really? She had been so worried about Conan, and then Shinichi showed up and he didn't look good either so Ran had worried about him too, but then he disappeared again. Ran didn't even recall how that case ended.

"Oy Kazuha." Hattori-kun was suddenly right in front of them. Ran hadn't noticed him come up. "You notice anything strange when you fought her?" he gestured toward the now covered body.

"Like what?" Kazuha-chan demanded.

Hattori-kun shrugged. "Just if something seemed off. Maybe how she moved or seemed."

Kazuha-chan looked uncomfortable. "Well" She began hesitantly, "I got this feeling like I shouldn't have won. She was as good as I thought. Better than me, at least she was at the start anyway."

Hattori-kun nodded. "That's what I thought. She looked real tired at the end."

"What's that mean, 'she looked tired'?" Kazuha-chan's tone caused Hattori-kun to flinch. The volume was still within normal ranges, but there was cold steel in her voice. "You were watching? Ran-chan told me that you told her that you were going out. I thought you missed it." Here her tone softened and grew slightly mocking. "Whatcha do, sneak around to the side and watch secretly?"

"Idiot! I just saw the end as I was leaving. No way I care 'bout your silly match anyway." Hattori-kun crossed his arms, and Ran suddenly realized he didn't have Shinichi anymore.

"Idiots shouldn't call people idiots, you idiot! Just admit that you were cheering me on. You were, weren't you?"

"Well it looked to me like you could use all the cheering you could get. You were getting your but whooped."

"Was not!" Ah, there was the expected volume. Ran was both relieved and disappointed in Hattori-kun. It was good he stayed to watch Kazuha-chan's match, and bad that he did so secretly.

"Were too! You said yourself that she was better! Don't get mad when I'm agreeing with you." Ran had no luck these days. She set herself to considering how to diffuse the volatile situation.

"Heji-niichan," Shinichi did that thing again, popping up from out of nowhere at exactly the right time. "Why does it matter who was better? Kazuha-neechan won right?"

Kazuha-chan puffed up like an offended bird. "'Course it matters, 'cause-"

Hattori-kun dropped a fist into his open palm and promptly interrupted. "Yer right ku-kido. That's not the point."

Kazuha-chan responded hotly, "well, what is the point? Other than 'Heiji is a coward'?"

"The point is," Hattori-kun ignored the twitching of his eyebrow and continued, "that Hayashi-han was poisoned _before _her match with Kazuha. The killer didn't have to go near her _after _the match at all." Hattori-kun said it like it was obvious, and Shinichi nodded in agreement. Ran was confused. The thought had never occurred as a possibility, but it did sort of make sense.

Murmurs of understanding and confusion alike ran through the spectators. Apparently Kazuha-chan and Hattori-kun garnered quite a lot of attention with their little performance, the majority of ambient people stood watching. It was really a talent, to be able to fight in public as if they were the only two people on the planet. Hattori-kun looked pleased with the attention, so Ran could only assume that he, and by extension Shinichi, had figured everything out and were ready to begin the deduction show.

Shinichi couldn't be left out. "Hieji-niichan said that there was a small puncture wound on the bottom of Hayashi-san's foot, like she stepped on something pointy. Why wasn't she wearing shoes?" He did a good job of sounding confused.

"We take our shoes off during a match so we don't damage the mats. But most competitors wear slip on shoes to walk around in." Kazuha-chan said thoughtfully. "I think Hayashi-han's were next to her on the bench."

"But then couldn't someone leave something sharp on the mat as a mean trick?"

"Well, yeah. It wouldn't be too hard, but that would be a very mean trick." Ran felt her heart go cold at Kazuha-chan's words. If this case was just a 'mean trick' with no specific target, then any of the competitors could have died. That included Kazuha-chan. something sharp and poisoned on a mat would kill indiscriminately. The thought was chilling.

Hattori-kun let the realization sink in t bit before he continued, "just as Conan-kun said, the culprit left something sharp and pointed, likely a thumb tack, which had been coated in a poison on the mat for the victim to step on. There is a bruise like discoloration around a small puncture wound on the bottom of the victim's foot. This bruise and witness accounts of Hayashi-han's final match against Kazuha lead me to believe that she was poisoned with a kind of hemotoxin.

Hemotoxins circulate in the blood causing hymolysis and organ damage, and unlike some neurotoxins, they can be slow to take full effect. The specific toxin, as well as the dosage and the victim's level of activity can influence the speed and severity of the toxin's effects. Symptoms of hymolysis include nausea, disorientation and exhaustion before resulting in death."

During the victim's match with Kazuha, Hayashi-han started off strong, but gradually lost speed, stamina and coordination. She seemed very worn out by the end of the fight and sat down alone on the bench where she was later found dead. Of course we won't know for sure until an autopsy is done, but I'm confident that hymolysis is the cause of death."

Because of the variable nature of hemotoxins it is difficult to determine exactly when the victim encountered the poison. Anyone who had access to the mats today had the opportunity to place the poison." People in the crowd looked around at each other nervously, realizing that they could each be standing next to a murderer without knowing.

"It is possible the culprit left the weapon anywhere it was likely to be stepped on without caring who stepped on it." The nervousness in the crowed increased. "But random acts of violence are not nearly as common as most people believe. Crimes of this nature almost always have a specific target and motive." They breathed a collective sigh of relief. The thought of a random killing was an uncomfortable one, more uncomfortable than a criminal with a particular bone to pick.

Ran watched Hattori-kun with the eye of a connoisseur. Part of being a good detective was being good at communicating ideas, and Hattori-kun was a good detective. He wasn't quite the showman Shinichi was (he was a little too down to earth and in the moment to plan things like dramatic entrances and the best use of ambient lighting) but he did have a keen grasp of timing, mood and suspense. The crowd had no choice but to tag along, hanging on every word.

After a suitable dramatic pause, Hattori-kun continued, "Hayashi han was in the habit of meditating between fights, and we know from Kazuha's match against her that Hayashi-han's health deteriorated quite quickly once she began exerting herself. Hayashi-han therefor must not have encountered the poison before her previous match, as she showed no symptoms during the active fight nor the calm period that followed. But she also could not have been poisoned while meditating because people knew not to disturb her and approaching her at this time would have been highly suspect. So it follows that she was poisoned sometime during the match, and the person with the greatest opportunity to commit the act was her opponent at the time, right? Otomi-han?"

All eyes in the auditorium turned to focus on the petit girl. The people closest to her took a few steps back in alarm. Her face showed shock and a little panic, but she stood her ground. "What are you saying, that I killed her? Why should I have? We were friends!" She defended angrily.

Soichiro-san stood behind his team mate. "That's right. Hariko-kun and Sumi-kun were rivals, but there was never any bad feelings in their competitions. Sumi-kun looked up to Hariko-kun, she didn't hate her!"

Shun-san rubbed his eyes and nodded. It looked as he had been crying. When he spoke, his voice was soft like his disposition. "I've known Sumi-chan since we were kids. There's no way she'd kill someone, especially Hayashi-san. And Hayashi-san was sometimes short with people, but she was never mean one purpose. So why?"

The look on Otomi-san's face was difficult for Ran to place, and Ran was usually good at that kind of thing. Otomi-san was grateful to her friends, but she also seemed angry and a little guilty. Ran believed Hattori-kun and Shinichi were right about her. Shun-san had a point though: why?

"Hayashi-san beat you in that fight right? You must have been angry right?" Shinichi asked quietly.

Otomi-san glared at him, then said sweetly, "boya, losing is a part of getting better. Hayashi-chan was better than me, I was honored to face her and have the opportunity to improve my skills."

"Even though you fell over? I get angry when people knock me over."

"Even so, I've never gotten angry over a match. Anger is a weakness."

Hattori-kun stepped forward, bringing the collective focus back to himself. "I didn't see your match myself, but witnesses remember you fell twice in almost the same spot. That doesn't seem very likely to have been a coincidence. The first time you hit the mat, you left the poisoned tack point up, with the flat part wedged in a tear in the mat so that it would stay down. Then you maneuvered your opponent into stepping on it, a painful yet supposedly inconsequential wound, while avoiding it yourself. After Hayashi-han was injured you then retrieved the tack and hid it."

"You're just making things up! You didn't see me do that! Yes I fell more than once, but that happens sometimes. No one watching saw me with this tack! I have no motive! You have no proof!"

"While you were talking to Conan-kun earlier, he noticed that the cuffs of your pants were rolled higher than other competitors." Otomi-san choked back a sob at Hattori-kun's words, "It's a common criminal behavior to hold on to key evidence. People feel safer by protecting it than they from getting rid of it. I confident that you're carrying the murder weapon rolled up in your cuff. A careful search will tell us for sure if you killed you classmate."

Hattori-kun continued, "as for motive, I can only guess, but shun-han seemed awfully fond of the late Hayashi Hariko-han, while you've been close friends with Shun-han for a long time. Maybe Hayashi-han was a rival in more than aikido."

Otomi-san remained silent under the weight of Hattori-kun's words, and didn't flinch as questioning eyes scoured her for the truth. It was Shun-san's quiet words, "Really, Sumi-chan?" that undid the girl. Tears flowed quietly down her face and she nodded, just once, to admit her guilt.

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><p>AN: *ahem* AHHHHHHH! My apologies. This took way way way way way too long. I stopped writing for a while, and it was kind of hard to get back into it, but now I'm just making excuses. Sorry if the ending seems rushed, but I was soo ready to get this done. No clue when the next bit will be finished.<p>

In an unrelated note, I'm totally skipping class right now. Bad author! Bad!

In another somewhat related note, What did yall think of my first murder? To contrived?


	5. Chapter 5

Things quieted down quickly after Hayashi-san was lead away by a couple of officers. Hattori-kun, Kazuha-chan, Ran and Shinichi stayed around the scene just long enough to give detailed statements to one of the remaining officers. The polite man (the same one Ran had spoken to earlier) assured the teens that they need not come down to the station because all of their information was already well documented and if the lead investigator (not Yamada-san) needed anything else he would call. This worked out well for everyone.

Kazuha-chan seemed especially pleased. The threat of arrest, no matter how absurd it had been, had shaken her up more than she was willing to admit and she practically dragged Hattori-kun away the second they were free to go. With nothing but a hurried apology and 'thanks for letting us stay' the pair from Osaka quickly departed. Hattori-kun shouted a bit in protest before giving up the contest of wills he was sure to lose anyway.

"Call me, Ku-Kido!" he shouted as he was tugged relentlessly away. Shinchi glared, slapped a palm to his forehead and shook his head in a resigned manner as people looked at him curiously. Ran wondered how on earth she hadn't caught on before this. Even considering the seeming impossibility of shrinking sleuths the truth seemed so obvious now.

Ran felt a little bit hurt that Kazuha-chan had decided to ditch Tokyo so quickly; she would have liked more time to catch up with her rarely seen friend. On the other hand, bad things happened when Shinichi and Hattori-kun were in the same place at the same time. Perhaps it was best to get the other Detective back to his own city before luck struck again. Not to mention Kazuha-chan was a little to discerning for Ran to be comfortable around her at the moment. Really, Ran should have been relieved her friend would soon be halfway across Japan and therefore less of a danger to Ran's new secret.

The biggest threat was of course Shinichi himself, with his uncanny ability to notice even the slightest change in peoples' behavior. It wouldn't be easy, but Ran had to act completely normal as she re-ordered and reevaluated everything she knew about her best friend. Ran snorted, realizing that was practically impossible. She would just have to get rid of him for a few hours tomorrow, or wait until he was asleep before she could seriously consider her options.

Ran checked the time on her phone; it was almost seven in the evening. The tournament had begun around noon, and the murder had occurred around two o'clock. Ran's stomach grumbled an inaudibly remind her she hadn't eaten since breakfast. "Lest go home, Conan-kun. You must be starving."

Shinichi nodded and yawned, reaching for the hand Ran offered him without protest. Remembering how much sneaking around the little boy had done (not to mention the gymnastics both mental and physical) Ran thought his fatigue wasn't entirely a disguise. It occurred to her that Shinichi worked really hard to solve cases now compared to the show of effortlessness he put on as his older self. Ran fought the urge to just pick him up and carry him home. She wasn't his mother, and he certainly wouldn't appreciate the help. Wry amusement tickled through her as she recalled that Shinichi was this age the first time when he had started insisting he could take care of himself.

Ran faltered a little in her steps as she suddenly became aware of being watched. She was immediately aware of her surroundings, scanning the faces of people on the street to try to subtly identify the watcher. The watched feeling increased as she became more tensed and focused. Ran prepared herself to fight or flee if it became necessary, her hand unconsciously tightening around a much smaller one.

And then suddenly she understood and felt the immediate need to smack herself about the head for being silly. Of course it was Shinichi watching her with such focused intent that it alerted her instincts. Of course he would have noticed and become concerned about her recent strange behavior. She didn't have to be a detective to know that she was probably giving away a hundred little signals telling of her internal turmoil.

Ran forced herself to relax and think about anything that wasn't related to shrinking, scheming detective geeks. Math homework came to mind, and Sonoko's latest gossip about who in their class was secretly dating, kittens playing with balls of string, the satisfaction of punching something really hard, and last but not least a catchy tune she had heard on the radio that morning got stuck in her head. The watching feeling weakened but didn't entirely go away. He was still suspicious.

Well with any luck he'd be tired enough to go strait to bed after dinner and leave her alone with her thoughts. With her father still away on some business or other, Ran didn't need to worry about cooking for and cleaning up after the drunk. She loved her father dearly, but sometimes she just couldn't stand him. (Secretly she could understand why her mother left, even though she didn't entirely agree with the decision). She would have plenty of alone time to think things through.

Ran kept her pace slow to accommodated Shinichi's shorter stride. The sun began to sink below the skyline, and the little boy yawned again. By the time they got back to the agency, Ran decided it would be a lot easier to have dinner at Poirot, the convenient little café that was just below the office. Afterward it was only a short climb up the stairs to home.

True to expectation, with a mumble goodnight Conan-kun went straight to the room he normally shared with Ran's father, presumably to sleep. Ran retired to her own room, glad to finally be alone but far too restless to sleep. Instead she sat down at the desk she used for homework and rested her head on folded hands. A couple of things about this afternoon's case disturbed her. Some of her thoughts were caught up with Shinichi's persistence despite his obvious disadvantage, while the rest of her mind was focused on various inconstancies she had noticed in past cases. Even knowing that Conan-kun and Shinichi were one and the same, some things that had happened just didn't make sense.

Memories whirled through her, confusing and overwhelming. There was so much to try to understand that she didn't know where to start. '_How about at the beginning?_' asked a sarcastic voice in her head. She told it to shut up.

So, the beginning: that night at the amusement park. Ran had felt so certain that something bad had happened there, a feeling that only intensified the longer Shinichi was missing. Those days between when she had last seen him and the first time that he called her were some of the worst days of her life. At the time, having Conan-kun to take care of had helped her keep her world together, but now his presence felt almost like a betrayal. Shinichi had been there the whole time she worried, and he still didn't tell her.

He could have made everything better with just a few words. So much could have been avoided if he had just told her. In his defense, Shinichi had tried his best to comfort her in his own way, and he managed to call her every once and a while to just talk normally. Ran wondered how he did that anyway. Either he had a way to change from Conan-kun to Shinichi and back in relatively short time, or he had some way to change his voice.

Ran rather thought it was the second. Yes Shinichi had been around in his normal size a few times, but such occasions were rare and he had looked ill each time. He had looked especially bad the first time, during a case that kind of resembled the one this afternoon. Some politician had been poisoned by his wife, Ran wasn't clear on the details as she had been too worried about Conan-kun and then Shinichi to pay much attention. She supposed that going from a kid to a teen and back again wasn't a walk in the park. Voice changing technology was much more likely.

A thought briefly crossed her mind before she pushed it away. Something about a distinctive deduction style, voice changing technology and her fathers recent baffling success. No way was she looking under that rock just yet, she had enough rage inducing mindbending revelations for one week. She'd deal with that thought later.

So voice changing tech could explain the phone calls, and it could also be how 'Shinichi' had called her while Conan-kun was standing right in front of her. It was both maddening and satisfying to know that she had been right about the kid almost from the beginning. The professor might have provided the tech and the alibi. In fact, Agasa-hakase had provided many alibi's since then too, and even the very first explanation of where Conan-kun came from. There was no way the man was not involved.

That brought fresh anger bubbling up inside her. Hattori-kun knew, the creepy Sherry girl knew, the professor knew, who else had Shinichi trusted more than Ran? Yukiko-san's smiling face as she claimed a distant relationship to the little boy came to mind. And where did the so called Edogawa Fumiyo fit into this? Obviously Conan-kun didn't have a real mother.

How many times was she lied to by people she trusted?

Abruptly, Ran's phone vibrated against her desk. She placed a hand on her chest just to make sure that her heart was still beating after being badly startled. Curiously she looked at the display screen, wondering who on earth would be calling this late.

Shinichi?

"Shinichi?" She answered somewhat disbelieving.

"Uh, hi Ran. I didn't wake you did I? I didn't realize it was getting so late." Ran felt something loosen up inside her when she heard his voice. Even knowing that he was sitting in the room next to her using some gadget or other to change his voice and lie through his teeth couldn't completely extinguish her joy. Ran blinked at that thought and then blushed, realizing that she had it worse for her best friend than she had previously thought.

Ran fought really hard to keep the blush from her voice when she replied. She was embarrassed enough without Shinichi catching on and asking if something was wrong. "No, you didn't. A girl was killed today and I don't feel like going to sleep just yet. I was doing some homework."

"A case huh? What happened?" The jerk actually had the nerve to sound curious. Ran was impressed and annoyed at the same time. "Oh, I mean are you okay?"

She sighed audibly and tried to sound resigned and slightly annoyed. "Jeeze, you mystery geek. You don't have to pretend to be worried about me, I'll tell you all about the case. Besides, I'm fine. Really, it just gave me a lot to think about." Ran gave herself a mental congratulations. She hadn't even lied.

"Oh," Shinichi sounded a little mollified. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Ran was suddenly bothered that she couldn't tell if Shinichi was genuinely concerned or if he was just fishing for information. Knowing him, it was probably a bit of both. "Well, Hattori-kun and Kazuha-chan were in town right?" Ran proceeded to explain the whole case, beginning to end, and she didn't even have to fake the irritation in her rant about the fool inspector Yamada Rikouto. "Sometimes people make me so mad! I bet the whole thing would have gone better if you had been there Shinichi. When are you coming home?"

For a while silence was her only answer. Ran had learned from previous conversations that it was best not to mention Shinichi's perpetual absence. Next he would babble a quick yet sincere apology, and then suddenly become busy and end the phone call. Ran found the whole thing depressing, so she hardly ever asked anymore, but this time she couldn't help herself. She wanted to her what he had to say, wanted to give him another chance to tell the truth, and a part of her wanted him to feel guilty when he lied to her again.

"I don't know Ran. I'm sorry, but I can't come home until I wrap this case up. I'd be by your side in a second if this wasn't so important." Shinichi pleaded with her to understand.

"More important than me?" Ran hated how pathetic she sounded.

"I… I'm sorry Ran, I shouldn't have called so late. 'Night." And then he was gone.

* * *

><p>AN: This didn't quite turn out the way I expected it to, but I think it's alright. I'm on a roll, right now, so I'm starting the next chapter right away. Hopefully it won't be months in the making this time, but I'm not promising anything. Sneak peek: Next chapter, Ran will admit out loud that she's in love with Shinichi. A few more conversations have to happen before this thing is over.

I know its short, but it just wanted to end there.

Ta Ta


	6. Chapter 6

When Ran woke that morning, she had decided. She was fed up with all the lying going on around her. She was done to death with the mildly angsty introspection. After all, hadn't she always taken pride in herself as a woman of action? All this time waiting and wondering wasn't doing either herself or Shinichi any good. Ran wanted to know the truth.

As Ran went through her morning routine, she was confidant and hopeful that Ai-chan, Sherry, would keep her word and reveal the answers to this infuriating mystery. Remembering that chilling conversation, the condition the girl demanded in exchange for the truth was just a willingness to forgive, and while Ran had not forgiving the lying jerk she called her best friend just yet, she knew she could never hate him. Once she finally understood, she thought it likely she'd forgive him eventually.

With a mind more clear than it had been for days, Ran sat down with Conan to eat the breakfast she had prepared for them. Their idle talk of yesterday's events and future plans was comfortable enough, but there was a lingering feeling of alertness. No doubt about it, Ran had been acting strange lately, and Shinichi was worried, she could tell.

The atmosphere began to turn more awkward as the meal concluded and both participants started running out of small talk. Ran wondered how to covertly ditch her charge and visit the Agasa residence by noon. She was eager to get this whole thing over with. She jumped, slightly surprised by the sharp knock on the door.

It opened to reveal the smiling faces of the detective boys group. "Conan-kun!" Ayumi-chan cried as she bounced lightly in place. "Come to the playground with us! We brought a soccer ball!"

The smile Shinichi wore when faced with the girl's innocent enthusiasm was not one Ran had ever seen, although she had never really looked before. It was soft and indulgent. The Shinichi Ran remembered did not have the sort of kind patience this smile displayed. Obviously the little detective was truly fond of his loud, annoying, nosy friends.

Ran caught herself thinking about what a good father Shinichi would be someday. She immediately felt heat rise to her face; she retuned to the dishes in the sink to hide the blush.

"Ah," Shinichi nodded in agreement. "If Ran-neechan says it's okay?" four pairs of bright, hopeful eye turned on her. Ran chuckled. This didn't seem to be an act on Shinichi's part. He truly wanted to play soccer with his friends. Probably to teach them how to do it the right way.

"That's all right with me," Ran replied with a hint of amusement. "Do you guy's want me to come along to supervise?" gently hinting they shouldn't go out on their own.

Mitstuhiko-kun, always the polite one, answered sweetly, "that's not necessary Ran-san. Agasa-hakase is meeting us at the field. We wanted Haibara-san to come to, but she said she's tired today," he said with disappointment. Then a slight blush came to his cheeks, "you can come anyway. I mean, only if you would like, of course."

Ran was both flattered and amused by the boy's little crush, and on another day she would have enjoyed watching these kids run around without care, Shinichi included. In her opinion, Shinichi had forced himself to grow up to quickly in the first place, he should enjoy the innocent play of childhood.

"I would love to Mitstuhiko-kun, but I have something I need to take care of today." She said gently. Shinichi's eyes narrowed fractionally, suspicious once more. "I have an assignment due next week," she rationalized, "and I'd like to take advantage of the quite around here while it lasts." Ran obliquely referred to her father's temporary absence.

Mitstuhiko-kun nodded. "I understand, Ran-san. Perhaps next time." And with that, the group of excited youngsters clattered down the stairs with scattered calls of "bye Ran-neechan," and "see you later." The silence left in their wake was slightly disconcerting.

Ran shook the feeling off, and glanced at the clock. It was still too early to seek the mysterious Sherry out, but she had already decided she was done with tedious introspection. Upon her reflections as she was falling asleep the evening prior, Ran decided that Sherry was a creepy, insensitive little witch, but she seemed to genuinely mean the best for Shinichi.

So Ran put the issue from her mind for now, and sat down with her textbook and a cup of tea.

* * *

><p>The sun was nearly overhead when Ran approached the home of the eccentric inventor she had always known as 'Hakase'. Checking her watch confirmed that, yes, Ran was early by nearly a half hour. She hoped it wouldn't matter and rang the familiar doorbell.<p>

Soon enough, the door swung open. Ai-chan, or perhaps Sherry, regarded her with cool eyes. "Just in time," the not-child said, "please come in."

Ran entered without further ceremony, tense with suspicion. "Please, sit down." Said the girl upon reaching the sitting area. "Would you like some tea?"

"If it's all the same, I would rather get to the point." Ran felt herself annoyed by the pretence of politeness the girl displayed.

Sherry raised an eyebrow, perhaps amused. "And have you made a decision?"

"If I can forgive him, you mean. Yes. I can. I haven't yet, but I can forgive Shinichi provided he has had a damn good reason for lying to me. Is that enough to satisfy you?" Ran replied in a carefully measured tone. Getting emotional now would not solve anything.

A minor staring contest ensued, with both girls sizing up the other. Ran's heigh advantage didn't seem to be an advantage at all. Sherry held her gaze calmly despite having to look up to do so. Ran waited, refusing to back down now.

With a shrug and a sigh, Sherry conceded. "That will have to do, I suppose. It is about what I expected, after all. Please sit down. This is a long story."

Once both were seated comfortably, Sherry began. "I'll ask you not to interrupt. I will answer what questions I can at the end. " She waited for Ran to agree before continuing. "Once upon a time, a nosy detective stuck his nose where it didn't belong…"

.

.

.

The better part of an hour later saw Ran staring across the small coffee table blankly. She blinked a few times to order her thoughts while Sherry waited patiently.

"So. Members of a powerful organization caught Shinichi snooping at Tropical Land, gave him a deadly experimental poison designed to leave no trace behind, and then left him there to die."

Sherry nodded.

"But he didn't die. Shinichi mysteriously shrunk back to his six year old size, but kept his sixteen year old mind."

Nod.

"And rather than telling anyone, like his parents or his police friends, he decided to solve the case of the criminal organization by himself by moving in with me and manipulating my father into being a famous detective in order to get information."

Nod.

"And he didn't tell me because he couldn't risk news of his survival getting back to the people that tried to kill him. And the more he learned about the organization, the more dangerous they became to him and everyone around him."

Nod.

Ran sat quietly, mentally reviewing everything she had just learned. "That's ridiculous! What on earth was that boy thinking! Jumping into dangerous situations without backup! And he should have at the very least told me that he was laying low! Do you know how much I talk about Shinichi! A lot! All the time! I could have gotten him killed! He could have gotten me killed!" She had leapt from her seat and began pacing in front of the table. "Of all the stupid, idiotic, bullshit rationalizations!"

"Ahem" Sherry interrupted, causing Ran to pause in her pacing and angry muttering. "Yes, well. Clearly mistakes have been made. At the beginning, laying low and seeking information by himself was probably the best thing Kudo-kun could have done. The Organization would have found him immediately had he gone to the police. They have spies everywhere. Afterwards, he was in to deep; staying put was a reasonable decision. I will admit that, perhaps, absolute secrecy was not the best choice. A discrete warning about the dangers might have prevented certain indiscretions, as you have already pointed out."

"Damn right!" Ran stomped her foot rather childishly.

"What's done is done." Sherry said with a shrug. "What matters is what we are going to do next." The girl checked her watch. "I'm afraid this conversation will have to wait while I see to my next guest." Ran opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Sherry continued. "No point in starting the game until we have all the players. Wait here, it wouldn't do for him to see you early."

With that, Sherry slid from her own seat and exited the sitting room, leaving Ran confused and standing alone.

Ran was considering going after the girl and demanding an explanation when she heard the door open, and a voice that made her pause.

"Haibara." Shinichi said. "Good. Do you have it?" Have what?

"Hello to you to, Kudo-kun. Yes I have it, though I'm not convinced that I should give it to you." Ran could hear the 'unimpressed' in the girl's voice.

"We talked about this already, Haibara. Ran has been acting weird. I think she suspects something. I need to be me again to throw her off."

It hurt Ran to hear so clearly Shinichi's intent to trick her yet again. Was there a way for Conan to turn back into Shinichi? That would explain how Shinichi had occasionally turned up after that night in Tropical Land.

"I've made some changes to the formula. It should be safer, but there is still a danger if you take it. The stress your body will be under is still too high. It could stop your heart."

Ran choked back a shocked noise. Shinichi could die? And this one was safer?!

"I'll take that chance. I trust you, and I haven't died yet, so we're doing something right." How could he be so flippant about his possible demise? Once this was settled one way or another, Ran was going to teach Shinichi some self preservation if she had to beat it into him!

"Be serious, Kudo-kun. This is not a decision to be taken lightly." At least Sherry was ticked off as well.

"Well what am I supposed to do then! Ran's on to me, I know it!"

"Perhaps it would not be wise to continue to fool her." She conceded

"What are you talking about? You're the one who convinced me we couldn't tell her!"

"I wanted to keep Mouri-chan out of this. But perhaps she is already too much involved."

"But it's too dangerous!"

"It's dangerous for her anyway!" She snapped. "Look, I know what I said before. What I'm saying now is that it might be time to rethink our strategy. If Mouri-chan insists on digging for the truth, she is going to land us all in trouble."

The conversation lapsed for a moment. "Haibara," Shinichi pleaded, "how am I supposed to tell her? I can't just walk up to her and say 'hey, sorry for worrying you sick and leaving you in the dust, but I've been hiding under your nose this whole time!'"

"Just think about it Kudo-kun. The situation right now is unstable. Something is going to change, and I would rather be in control when it does."

"Fine. I want the cure anyway. If I have to tell Ran, I'm going to be myself when I do it."

"Fine. Here then. It should last for approximately ten hours. If you take it now, you will have a safe window from three o'clock to eleven o'clock. There's a change of clothes in the spare room."

"Thanks Haibara."

The sound of small footsteps followed by a door opening and closing indicated that Shinichi had made his way to the guest room. Presumably to take and antidote to the poison that would return him to his previous stature, which would last for less than a day, and which could kill him.

"Explain." Ran barked, albeit quietly, once Sherry reappeared in the sitting room.

"Well, I'm sure you noticed I had left some information out of my story. I wanted to talk to Kudo-kun first. I wasn't certain trusting you completely was the best idea."

Ran glared. She was tired of Sherry's imperious attitude.

"To start with, I owe Kudo-kun a great deal. I have been involved with the organization my entire life. My parents worked for them as researchers, as did I. They recognized my intelligence at a young age and groomed me to be an experimental chemist, codename Sherry, while my older sister was left mostly alone. Neither of us could do anything against the Organization for fear of the other.

I obediently created the very poison that led to Kudo-kun's current situation. I knew that my creation was being used by the organization, and that people were dying because of it. They would bring me lists of data, the victims' age, sex, and weight, and the observed effects of my poison. I would then improve the formula. I hated it, but I was effectively trapped. Then they killed my sister.

"When I refused to continue work, they imprisoned me. I don't know if they were planning to kill me, or if they were trying to find other leverage to force me to resume my research. I didn't wait to find out.

"I recalled from the animal testing that there was a seemingly impossible side effect of my poison. If the subject failed to die as they were supposed to, the poison would continue to attack the body, breaking down the very structure of cells. If the destruction was proportional, it was in effect the reverse of the aging process, leaving the subject alive in the form of a juvenile. This happened only once in my years of testing. One out of thousands.

"I also recalled that the death of Kudo Shinichi was never confirmed. I suspected that he had survived, returned to childhood. I stole a dose of the poison before They imprisoned me, and took it. If I regressed in age, I stood the chance of escaping. If I had died… well after they took my sister, I had nothing to live for anyway.

"As you can see, I survived. I made my way to Kudo-kun's house without really thinking about it. I was free of the organization, but I was alone. I had nowhere else to go. Agasa Hakase took me in and has cared for me since.

"The only options both Kudo-kun and I have left are to hide, or to fight. We choose to fight in anyway we can. I hope you can understand that."

Ran denied the mistyness of her eyes as she held the girls gaze. This child who was always so cold, had such a heavy history. Ran couldn't imagine, and didn't want to, being forced to create something so terrible, knowingly taking part in the murder of strangers in order to keep her family safe. This woman had gone through hell and survived it.

The wary look in the girl-woman's gaze steely, at once daring Ran to accuse her of her crimes and stating clearly that Ran's opinion didn't matter. Ran couldn't blame her for surviving.

"Ai-chan…"

A strangled scream ripped out of the guest room and through the tense atmosphere.


End file.
